08-05-2025
A CT woman went to a war zone 19 times to help children. Now she's doing the same for kids here
A Connecticut woman has made 19 trips to Ukraine to help sick, orphaned and dying children.
Now, Anna Kobylarz has opened a non-profit in Connecticut to help supply kids here — from infants to teens — with clothing and personal care items.
The Anna Kobylarz Hope Foundation's new 'Butterfly Closet' provides clothing, hygiene products and other essentials through referrals from partnership agencies.
'The Butterfly Closet was founded with the goal of ensuring that more children in our community have access to clothing and basic essentials such as diapers and hygiene products,' Kobylarz said.
'But it's about more than just providing items — it's about restoring dignity, lifting spirits, and letting these kids know they are seen and valued.'
The Butterfly Closet operates out of a small 1,000-square-foot warehouse at 322 Ellis St., New Britain.
The program provides a pretty butterfly box of items to those between infancy and 18-years-old who have been referred by agencies throughout Connecticut. They are not set up yet for individual requests from the public, Kobylarz said.
'We're getting requests from organizations who work directly with children,' she said.
The boxes are filled with underwear, shorts, sweat pants, shirts, a hoodie, a pair of shoes and hygiene products. In some cases a toy may be included. Diapers are available too.
'There's a huge need,' Kobylarz said. 'We're looking to grow.
In a time when many struggle to pay rent, bills and buy food, some necessities can fall through the cracks, she said.
While kids 'amazingly' understand their parents' situation, that doesn't solve the problem, she said. Kobylarz said they are looking for money donations to buy new clothes, gently used clothing items, volunteers and community partnerships.
The more items they have, the more kids they can help, she said. To contact Kobylarz on any of these matters text her at 914-441-6062 or email her at akobylarz@
As for her ongoing work in Ukraine on behalf of children, Kobylarz is planning a 20th trip.
'The war should stop now,' but the bombing has gotten worse,' Kobylarz said.
Putin says he hopes there will be no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
In Ukraine she's helped raise money from the United States and abroad to build a children's medical center as part of the City of Goodness, an orphanage and place for displaced moms to live.
In addition to tireless fundraising Kobylarz has rocked the babies, played with the children, fed them, and changed them as an all-around volunteer.
The three-story medical center, one floor for rehabilitation, one for medical treatment and the other for hospice care, opened in October.
There is also a focus on raising money to continue to pay medical staff, buying more equipment and purchasing a much-needed ambulance.
'This war breaks your heart into pieces,' she has said.
