Talk about not just saying but doing... Point Pleasant Mayor Paul Kanitra boarded a flight on Wednesday to Poland to help refugees from the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
"Half of my family is Polish and Slovakian," Kanitra said in a post on his official Mayor Facebook page Tuesday night. "And I feel compelled to do something watching this insane horror unfold." Kanitra is calling for what's happening in Ukraine as "unjust and unprovoked aggression."
"For years young Polish and Ukrainian people have come over to take summer jobs on the boardwalk and have forged a lot of lasting relationships here," Kanitra said. "I don't know how much of a difference one person can make, but I'm at least going to try."
It is also a family connection for Kanitra. He says: "My great-grandparents on my father's side came over from Poland and Slovakia," Kanitra said Wednesday morning. "Not only that, I've been to pretty much every country involved in the conflict. I've traveled to some of the places my ancestors came from."
He continues, "I want to try to find the needs that are not being met, whether it's juice boxes for kids or blankets or train and bus fare." He says, "After we assess on our first day then we'll start making some runs and getting what really matters," he said.
His followers are quick to comment their support for The Mayor as he travels.