An effort that Idaho resident Robert Sturgill launched in 2014 to rebuild homes following a deadly typhoon in the Philippines has grown into a charitable organization that recently helped hundreds of Ukrainians flee war.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, thousands of people have been killed there or forced to leave their homes. Many scrambled to find a way out at the war’s onset, and for some that came in the form of a van driven by a small team of Idahoans working with Sturgill’s charity, Type of Wood.

Sturgill and his team went to Ukraine in March and have returned several times since. They have coordinated with other Idaho groups and individuals who wanted to help with the goal of evacuating Ukrainian women and children, bringing them to safety across Ukraine’s borders and getting them food and supplies.

“We helped dozens of families and hundreds of people,” Sturgill said. “Everybody kind of just fell under a common goal and we did what we could to shuttle people out.”

In the past eight years, Type of Wood, which is headquartered out of a spare bedroom in Sturgill’s Twin Falls home, has reached people in need across Africa, Asia and now eastern Europe.

Sturgill named his non-profit group Type of Wood because, he said, when he was building homes in the Philippines, the wood they used for building was difficult to work with. When they grew frustrated with it, a local smiled at them and said something to the effect of, “It’s the type of wood. Deal with it.”

Sturgill said he likes the feeling of being able to help people and that feeling has driven his work. But helping people flee their homes during a violent invasion wasn’t something he’d experienced before.

“Going to Ukraine was completely different to our other missions because we’d never been in a war zone,” he said. “I’ve been in the Philippines and seen devastation and death. It’s horrific, but the part about war that is so difficult compared to that is that this is man-caused.”

Sturgill and his team have not been deterred by the element of danger amid the war. They have gone back to Ukraine several times to help facilitate evacuations, and their efforts don’t stop when they return home.

For delivering supplies to Ukrainians in need, Type of Wood had been working with trucking and shipping companies. It worked for a while, but Sturgill said now that shipping prices have risen and continue to rise dramatically, he thought it would be more cost effective to purchase a semi-truck to deliver supplies where they’re needed — so he did.

The semi-truck recently helped deliver supplies, including Clif Bars made in Twin Falls, to Ukrainian soldiers. Type of Wood posted videos of the delivery on its Facebook page.

“We’re talking about hundreds of tons of supplies that we’re getting delivered,” Sturgill said. “That’s been our big focus is getting medical supplies, medical equipment, food and necessities to where it’s needed in these areas that have been destroyed where these people have nothing.”

Everyone working with Type of Wood is a self-funded volunteer, so there are no overhead costs associated with the charity. All of the money donated to Type of Wood goes to charitable causes.

Sturgill said he and his team are prepared to help Ukraine as long as their help is needed.

“We’re in there to help for the long haul until the war comes to an end, and of course we are Type of Wood, so we plan to help rebuild later, too,” he said. “Anytime you help others, it feels good. When we see human suffering, it’s a natural tendency to want to help out. I’ve always been the kind of person that when I see that there’s a need or something that needs to be done, I can’t just sit. I gotta go and do, so that’s what we’re doing.”

For more information about Type of Wood or to donate, visit www.typeofwood.org.