Mykola Vyshyvanyuk
Mykola Vyshyvanyuk (born in Ukraine) is a dressmaker and founder of NiEl’ Bridal Atelier in Lviv, Ukraine, currently working at Something You Couture in Vestavia Hills.
He and his wife, Olena, have three daughters.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, the Vyshyvanyuks sent their daughters Poland to live with their grandparents there. They turned their business over to fabricating tactical vests for soldiers and provided short-term shelter and meals to refugees. Their children returned to Lviv as the initial attacks in western cities diminished, but made the decision to leave as a family when missiles again began battering their city.
Though the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's "United for Ukraine" program, the Vyshyvanyuks made contact with Regions Bank attorney Ed Cotter who sponsored their 2-year resettlement in Birmingham. Cotter launched a GoFundMe which raised $50,000 for their expenses and rent, and others donated vehicles, furniture, clothing and toys. Russian-born Regions employees Irina Pritchett and Kate Laminack have helped with travel and interpreting. The family arrived in Alabama in November 2022.
Olena volunteers to assist other Ukrainian families residing in the United States.
References
- Segrest, Doug (February 27, 2023) "‘What My Soul Needed'." Regions Bank / 3BL CSRwire
- Washington, Taylor (May 1, 2023) "A Ukrainian dressmaker and his family find refuge and a new beginning in Alabama" WWNO.org
External links
- Mykola Vyshyvanyuk at Linkedin.com