Wisconsin woodworker makes 200 trucks for Ukrainian children this Christmas

By: CBS 58 Newsroom

Posted: Nov 25, 2022 3:49 PM CDT

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- A Wisconsin man is one step closer to making Christas a little better for children in Ukraine.

Woodworker Kale Kvistad has made 200 trucks for kids who were forced to flee their homes because of the war.

During a recent doctor's appointment, Kale told his doctor about his woodworking mission.

His doctor was so inspired by the idea that she asked her co-workers for help.

Together, they donated 200 activity books to send to Ukraine along with Kale's trucks.

"We sent out an email to all the employees at Mayo on the Onalaska campus and they responded quite generously," said Dr. Rebecca Danhof, Mayo Clinic Health System.

"This way they got something else to do besides just play with trucks. They can do coloring and learn things in those books. There is a lot of different stuff in those books," said Kvistad.

Thanks to the outpouring of support from community members and the hospital, Kale says all of the gifts will be shipped from Chicago to Poland. Then they'll be distributed to young Ukrainian children sometime before Christmas.