Fremd student on a mission to connect Ukrainian refugee children with books

Ukrainian refugee children will receive 8,000 books worth more than $100,000 as a result of the efforts of a group founded by a 16-year-old William Fremd High School student from Inverness.

The books will be shipped during an event hosted by Mission:MathMinds, a group founded by Ruby Arun three years ago.

The event takes place 11 a.m. to noon Sunday at Kumon Math and Reading Center of Rolling Meadows, 2065 Plum Grove Road. The group's efforts began in March 2022.

At the time, “For a lot of students here, we weren't really sure what we could do to support what was going on internationally,” Arun said. “And so the book drive was an idea that came to mind.”

She said the books will be shipped to the international nonprofit Libraries Without Borders. Later, they will be distributed to refugee camps.

In addition, some of the books will be sent directly to schools for refugees founded by Ukrainian educators displaced by the war that Arun visited during a trip to Poland last year.

In July and August, she traveled to Warsaw and volunteered with displaced Ukrainian children. She interviewed teachers, principals, students and parents, including a principal who founded an organization called the Unbreakable Ukraine Foundation.

“It was a really great bonding experience and an opportunity to hear the stories of these kids,” she said. “These 8- and 9-year-olds have gone through really destructive and traumatizing things in their lives. The biggest message they sent home with me was, ‘Don't forget about us,' and ‘Make sure you hear our voices.'”

These stories have been shared at the group's website, missionmathminds.org/.

Mission:MathMinds was formed in 2020. The group's website describes it as a “growing community of empowering female mentors and students” seeking to create an environment where girls can build confidence and pursue a passion for math.