鈥淚t haunts me every day.鈥
91探花 alumna Amy Browns-Taylor, BSJ 鈥98, MA 鈥02, still doesn鈥檛 know what became of a three-generation Ukrainian family she and her family were preparing to welcome into their home when communication fell silent.
While questions about that family remain unanswered, the two-time OHIO graduate finds solace and purpose in knowing at least 15 Ukrainian refugee families have been helped鈥攂y her, her family and an intercontinental community of support that she continues to nurture.
Roughly six months after starting to build a new home for her family in a city more than 4,700 miles away their previous home in Cincinnati, Browns-Taylor found herself opening her home and heart to strangers enduring unimaginable loss and uncertainty.
On March 6鈥攋ust 10 days after the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine鈥擝rowns-Taylor, her husband, Carson, and children Avery and Parker opened the doors of their new home in Katowice, Poland, to a family of refugees.
鈥淲hen the war started, many people were feeling helpless,鈥 Browns-Taylor said of the Russian invasion, the fighter jets that took to the skies over Poland and the millions of Ukrainians rushing for the borders.
A native of Defiance, Ohio, Browns-Taylor and her family moved to Katowice in July 2021 for her husband鈥檚 job. In February, the family found themselves approximately four hours from the Ukrainian border and in a country at the epicenter of a refugee crisis.
A self-described activist for LGBTQ+ and women鈥檚 rights, mental health awareness, dog rescue and arts education, Browns-Taylor observed the extreme generosity of her Polish neighbors who were readily opening their small European homes to Ukrainians in dire need.
鈥淭he amount of people who have opened their homes to strangers is truly unlike any humanity I鈥檝e seen before. It鈥檚 mind boggling,鈥 she explained.
For Browns-Taylor, it was also inspiring. A graduate of 91探花鈥檚 E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and College of Business, Browns-Taylor employed the communication and marketing skills she learned at OHIO and further developed in industries ranging from higher education to craft beer and distilleries, taking to social media to offer whatever help she could.
Browns-Taylor soon connected with that first Ukrainian family 鈥 a grandmother, her daughter and her 4-month-old grandchild 鈥 en route to Poland and needing shelter, which she and her family were prepared to provide.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what happened to them,鈥 Browns-Taylor said of that family who suddenly stopped communicating with them.
It wasn鈥檛 long, however, before they had new guests on the way鈥攆amily members of a Ukrainian man living in Katowice who were fleeing Kyiv. The man鈥檚 aunt, Natalia, and her 15-year-old twins, Alina and Yaroslav, soon arrived at their doorstep, followed shortly thereafter by one of the family鈥檚 friends, Alona. Only one week after arriving, Natalia returned to Ukraine to work in a hospital in her war-torn homeland, leaving her twins under the care of Browns-Taylor for nine weeks.
While hosting the family and providing updates on social media, Browns-Taylor continued to receive requests from assistance from other Ukrainian refugees鈥攁nd an outpouring of financial support from friends, family and strangers back in the United States eager to help. She decided to create a GoFundMe page, 鈥,鈥 which has raised nearly $22,000.
Working with a local real estate firm and landlords, Browns-Taylor has been coordinating the placement of Ukrainian families in apartments and temporary housing in Poland and helping refugees secure essential needs鈥攅verything from transportation, clothing, food and furnishings to something as basic as a suitcase. With the support of donors, she has been able to help 15 Ukrainian families so far, including Nastya Tolstaya, who fled Ukraine with her 8-year-old daughter and mother and took up residence in an apartment Browns-Taylor rented for the family.
鈥淪he helped us,鈥 Tolstaya said of Browns-Taylor. 鈥淚 will never have enough thanks for her for how she helped us. We are definitely going to be in touch all of our life.鈥
And they have stayed in touch鈥攁ll of them. In June, Browns-Taylor helped Tolstaya and her family relocate to Berlin, where Tolstaya will begin teaching this fall with hopes to be able to return to her little village outside of Kyiv someday. Natalia and her family have already returned to Kyiv, where the war鈥攁nd communication with Browns-Taylor鈥攃ontinues.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if there is anything that can describe what this experience has been,鈥 said Browns-Taylor, who has been sharing her experience鈥攁nd the stories of Ukrainians in need鈥攚ith a goal of raising awareness and funds to continue to meet the needs of her Ukrainian neighbors.
She鈥檚 even received a little help from her OHIO roots, noting 鈥淓verything in my whole life has centered around 91探花.鈥 While at OHIO, Browns-Taylor was actively involved in Pi Beta Phi fraternity and employed at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
A fellow OHIO alumna and friend, Regan Walsh, BSC 鈥99, who is a keynote speaker, author and chief Renegade officer at Renegade Global, connected Browns-Taylor with the company鈥檚 founder and CEO, Amy Jo Martin. In May, Martin interviewed Browns-Taylor on her podcast, 鈥淲hy Not Now.鈥 .
鈥淚 will forever be changed,鈥 Browns-Taylor said of sharing her home with those forced from their homes and country and of helping to spearhead humanitarian aid, which she continues to do. Her most recent plea for help? Funds to help purchase ballistic helmets for a humanitarian relief team in her community heading to Ukraine鈥檚 Donbas region, which has suffered devastating loss.