As she watched the events unfold in Ukraine, Mary Lambros felt there was more she could do to help those fleeing the ongoing war.
Now, Lambros is preparing to do just that by opening her 100-year-old home in LaSalle, Ont., just south of Windsor, to a family of 11.
Some of the family members are set to arrive later this month.
"It sounds crazy to a lot of people, but I just felt the need that I needed to do more than just write a cheque," she told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.
The thought came to her after watching the news one Sunday afternoon. She caught a segment about two students from Harvard University who created a platform, known as Ukraine Take Shelter, which helps connect Ukrainian refugees with potential hosts.
"And I thought, ‘Wow, maybe they’d like to comexjmtzyw to Ontario,’" Lambros said.
"So I thought I’ll just put it out there that I have a large house that sleeps 14 and happy to take a family. I never dreamt that I would actually get, all from the same family, 11 people."
The effort is one of many happening across the country as Canadians look to help the millions of people displaced by the conflict.
Among the family members destined for LaSalle are grandparents in their 70s, their son and daughter-in-law and two kids, as well as their nephew, his wife, two kids and his mother-in-law.
"How do you have so much and then lose it all in one day?" Lambros said. "To me, I just couldn’t even experience what they’re going through."
Lambros, who lives alone with her two Bernese mountain dogs, has eight bedrooms in her home and previously told CTV Windsor that it served as a prohibition house, frequented at one point by famous gangster Al Capone.
She plans to stay for a few days to help the family settle in before moving to her cottage.
"I just think it’s going to be a wonderful, wonderful experience," Lambros said.
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A man carries his belongings on a bike as he leaves his house, background, ruined in the Russian shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine, April 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
