Family selling Ohio vanity plates to benefit Ukraine on friend’s behalf

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A family who owns a local BMV is raising money for Ukraine by making vanity license plates.

Victor Senyk lives in Cincinnati but was born in Ukraine, even serving two years in the USSR military.

“A lot of kids are orphans right now, coming from eastern part of Ukraine,” he said Tuesday. “There is a lot of broken families. there is a lot of death around.”

Andrea Everetts has been friends with Victor going back eight years. Her husband owns the BMV—all Ohio BMVs were transitioned to private ownership in 2014—which is why she decided to make and sell vanity plates.

Half the proceeds of which go to Cincy4Ukraine, a local organization that gathers funds to help Ukrainian families and the Ukrainian military.

It’s a cause they’re passionate about, as Victor tries to make sense of the heartbreak happening in his home country. He moved to the US in 1998, but his little sister, Helena, remains in Ukraine with her husband and their 8-year-old son.

“Her husband has to stay,” Victor explained, “and she doesn’t want to have to leave her husband.”

Victor has two daughters born in the US, one of which is in boot camp with the US Marines.

“Even though we might not have a large Ukrainian community, maybe people would see it and connect with it more and know that it is a big deal even through it’s not happening here,” Andrea said of the license plates.

Added Victor, “I just want this war to stop as soon as possible.”

Find out more about the vanity plates here.

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