CLEVELAND - Olena Sadovska couldn’t sit by and watch what is happening in Ukraine. 

What You Need To Know

  • Olena Sadovska is a high school senior in Cleveland

  • She started a StairMaster challenge Saturday at 6:30 a.m. and finished 25 hours later

  • She live-streamed the event so people would donate to her GoFundMe, which raised $12,000 for Ukraine

Sadovska was born in Ukraine and moved to Cleveland as a child. Since the war began, she’s been terrified by the stories she’s heard from family and friends back home. 

She was overwhelmed with emotion and no longer wanted to feel helpless. Just a senior in high school, she decided to livestream herself on a StairMaster for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for those struggling in Ukraine. Friends joined her early Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. and finished with a crowd of family, friends and fellow gym members Sunday at 7:30 a.m. 

“I always hear people saying they want change, they want to make an impact but yet everyone that says that they never actually like try to make the change or try to be the impact that they want to see,” said Sadovska. “I guess it’s just like you can literally do whatever you want. It’s all in your head.” 

Her challenge raised over $12,000 on GoFundMe. She is working with the Ukraine Family Relief Fund to donate all the funds to children and families struggling during the war. 

 

Related Stories