Door County, Wis. – The Door County Candle Company has launched a Ukraine candle sale with the proceeds going to an emergency assistance fund in the war-ravaged country.
The Door County Candle Company is owned by Ukrainian-American, Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani who said “I knew people wanted to help, people in Ukraine, and I knew people wanted to do something and I just didn’t think our fundraiser would be a big way to do that.”
Since the launch of sale February 26th, they have sold more than 13,000 candles, both in-store and e-commerce.
So far, Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani says, the Ukraine candles have raised more than $100,000, for Razom Ukraine, the non-profit benefiting from the sale. “Just reading about the emergency response fund with Rozom and helping to fund bandages and tourniquets and all these supplies for the people getting hurt in Ukraine it’s going to make a huge difference and it’s so special that we can do this together and make a big difference for people in Ukraine, that’s the goal,” added Gorchynsky Trapani.
For online candle orders, orders there is about a month wait time before it is shipped and visitors to the store are waiting about a day before they can pick them up. No one seems to mind the delay, instead they’re focusing on the true meaning of the sale.
“When we heard they were sold out, we thought there must be a jar, something we can put our funds in and the fact that we can come back tomorrow and we can get a candle. And picking some up to take home for family and friends as well.” Said Renee Savee from Milwaukee.
Laura Urbaniak who is Savee’s sister, chimed in with, “These images that we see on TV and just the awful things that are happening over there, I absolutely want to help as much as I possibly can. It hurts my heart just to see these families broken apart and people dying, innocent people dying, we need to help them.”
And as long as customers are supporting the cause, the candles will continue to be poured.
“I can’t, if people want to keep helping, people in Ukraine, I can’t stop making these special candles so we’ll continue as long as people want to help,” says Gorchynsky Trapani.
Always be careful when burning candles, they are the 5th leading causes of house fires and account for 3% of all home fire deaths.
Here are some candles burning tips from the Mohawk Valley Trading Company:
- Never leave a burning candle unattended.
- Keep burning candles away from pets and children.
- Keep burning candles away from flammable materials.
- Remove paper label from candle before lighting.
- Burn candles only in a draft-free environment away from open windows, fans, air ducts, etc. This will help to prevent any smoking or dripping.
- Light the candle wick from the base of the wick, where the wick comes out of the candle. This allows the beeswax to be absorbed into the wick.
- Keep the wick trimmed to about 1/4″ when burning.
