What you eat for dinner on Wednesday, June 22, can make a difference in the lives of orphans in Ukraine. Hope Community Church will host a drive-through chicken and pork barbecue and bake sale at the church, 1806 Harrisburg Ave., Mount Joy, from 4 to 6 p.m. Proceeds will benefit World Without Orphans (WWO), a nonprofit dedicated to providing support for orphaned and vulnerable children.

"You'll have three options to choose from for the meal," said Christine Eifert, who is coordinating the fundraiser with Nicole Wells. "You can get a half-chicken, with baked potato, applesauce and roll; a pork barbecue sandwich with chips and applesauce; or a pound of cold pork barbecue to take home and heat up for dinner." Barbecue meals will be provided by Peters' Barbecue. A variety of baked goods will also be for sale. "We'll have sticky buns, cookies, pies, cupcakes, brownies, you name it," Eifert noted. "It will all be donated by the community."

Eifert said she got the idea for the fundraiser after feeling moved to action while watching news coverage of the war in Ukraine. She has a lot of experience coordinating fundraisers in the community and knew she could put her skills to use to help. "I'm kind of a fundraising maven," she said with a laugh. "It comes naturally to me. I love it."

When considering what organization to support, WWO was a natural choice. "The people with this organization are local, and they are really doing the work in Ukraine," Eifert said. "They came to my church asking for financial donations, and I thought, 'I could write a check, but I'd much rather do a fundraiser.' People want to help, but they don't know how. This is a concrete way to help."

WWO was founded in 2010. "This global movement got its roots in Ukraine, where churches had the vision to see every child of their country thriving in families, rather than in orphanages," said Karmen Friesen, executive director of WWO. Friesen noted that although Ukraine has made great strides in significantly reducing the number of children growing up in institutions, the current war has caused a setback. "To date, nearly two-thirds of Ukraine's children have been displaced," he stated.

Eifert said the barbecue and bake sale provide an easy way for people to help. "Everybody who watches the news knows what's happening in Ukraine," she emphasized. "This is an opportunity to show solidarity with the other side of the world. If this was happening at our doorstep, wouldn't we want to somebody to help us?"

Preorders for the barbecue are due by Saturday, June 11. A limited number of meals will be available for purchase on the date of the event.

For more information on the barbecue and bake sale or to order meals, visit https://hopechurchonline.org and click on the "Events" tab.