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Self-portrait of Jack Knowlden from Ukraine in April.
Photo supplied, Jack Knowlden
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Jack Knowlden pictured with a young Ukrainian man who is fighting for his country, whom Knowlden delivered donated protective gear to.
Photo supplied, Jack Knowlden
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Jack Knowlden at his Skin It tattoo shop on Historic 25th Street the day after her returned from his second trip to Ukraine.
Deann Armes, Special to the Standard-Examiner
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Self-portrait of Jack Knowlden from Ukraine in April.
Jack Knowlden pictured with a young Ukrainian man who is fighting for his country, whom Knowlden delivered donated protective gear to.
Jack Knowlden at his Skin It tattoo shop on Historic 25th Street the day after her returned from his second trip to Ukraine.
Jack Knowlden, owner of two Skin It tattoo shops in Ogden, was greeted at the Salt Lake airport on April 21 by a large gathering of friends and family welcoming him back home from his second trip to Ukraine in two months.
“Hopefully my next trip back will be a celebration of the end of the war!” stated Knowlden in a Facebook post.
For the time being, he is busy getting ready for the 10th Annual Shop Party and 1st Annual Motorcycle Rally at the 5th Street Skin It Tattoos on May 7 where he says everyone is invited. Knowlden is also organizer and host of Ogden’s first Tattoo Convention at Union Station June 3-5.
As Russia invaded Ukraine, Knowlden was on a trip in Vegas watching images on the news of children and women fleeing their homes, stirring him to action. He thought, “Why are we having a good time in Vegas when this is going on?” Having two young children of his own, he decided to go there and see what he could do to help. “I what thinking ‘what if those were my kids and no one was there to help them?’” he said.
Days later, he arrived in Medyka, the biggest border crossing in Poland, and started around asking: “I’m here; I have money. What can I do?”
After his first trip from March 15 to 31, he returned in April for another two weeks because more help was still needed. He spent the time on both trips buying and delivering urgently needed supplies, such as protective gear, canned food and medical supplies. On his most recent trip, he spent days continuously driving back and forth from Warsaw to Lviv, delivering supplies directly to the people who needed them — all as things were intensifying; five missiles hit neighborhoods in Lviv, the largest city in Western Ukraine, while Knowlden was there.
Knowlden was in good company in his mission while there; other individuals and organizations came pouring in from all over the world to offer aid. He came across a couple who left their vacation in Paris to help at the border; another independent volunteer, Heidi Diane Olsen from Salt Lake City, also delivered supplies in a van; and people at home in Utah sent donations that helped him purchase supplies.
Many see it as an act of heroism, but Knowlden feels like he’s the one who benefitted. “It makes you feel so good to help. And they need the help so it’s a win-win,” he said.
For those who want to send money to help, Knowlden suggests the organization Help Ukraine: helpukraine.org.
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