A group of neighbors from Greenpoint are helping displaced people in Eastern Europe as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.

After neighbors and local businesses discussed ways on how to help Ukrainian refugees, a group of friends in Greenpoint says they couldn't sit by.

Two weeks ago, the group started a GoFundMe effort to help local groups on the ground who are helping Ukrainians every day. So far, they have collected almost $23,000 dollars from people from all over the country.

"The donations that are coming are coming from Chicago, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and from Florida. It's not only limited to New York, to Greenpoint,” Ewa Knapik says.

The group is a diverse group of friends who live in one of the largest Polish neighborhoods in the country. With Poland so heavily involved in humanitarian efforts, they say they wanted to do their part from Brooklyn.

Some of the residents have a special relationship with Ukraine.

"In 1988, I was an exchange student in Medical University in Lviv. It was a beautiful city, I made a lot of friends. It was a transformational experience in my life. I never imagined Ukraine would be attacked and Lviv would be a city of refugees," Geoffrey Cobb says.

Flyers for their efforts hang outside the local businesses.

Vittoria Zanuso found a way to integrate her daily work to help move their efforts along.

"I'm the executive director of the Mayors Immigration Council, which is a global organization of mayors working on issues of migration and displacement. So for me, it was a way to apply my mission and work to the local level,” Zanuso says.

The Group says the Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union agreed to help them by transferring the money to a local organization on the ground, free of charge.

"The organization that we chose to support, they're called Caritas, and they are a huge and reputable humanitarian relief organization that works all over the world and they have a huge presence in Poland,” Jennifer Cooper says.

The group plans to continue their efforts for as long as there’s an immediate need.