CHICAGO (CBS) -- As millions continue to flee Ukraine after the Russian invasion, a Chicago native is not only working to get her family out of Ukraine, but much needed supplies back into the country. 

CBS 2's Jamaica Ponder has their story.

After Chicago native Jackie Birov saw the reality of Russia's invasion, she raced to get her octogenarian aunt and uncle out of the country.

"It's a totally desperate situation that no one should have to go through," Birov said. "I was looking at any angle I could that might be able to get them out faster because their situation was deteriorating."

"There wasn't one moment that made it happen, to be honest, it was a series of like one person that I would talk to connecting me to another connecting me to you know, a Facebook group to a signal group. So it was a combination of honestly, a lot of people's efforts," Birov said.

It took weeks of constant coordination and all-nighters to organize her family's safe evacuation.

Coordinating through the chaos, Birov walked her aunt and uncle through the messaging platform WhatsApp, so she could get the documents needed to evacuate.

"When I was trying to get their passport information, it was like we're on WhatsApp video chatting and [my uncle] was holding up his Green Card to the screen like trying to tell me, 'Do you see this? Do you?'

"And I'm like, "No, I don't. Can you take a picture and send it to me?' We ended up having to like go through things letter by letter, number by number," Birov said. "Their age, definitely in the technology piece really complicated things."

Organizing transportation wasn't any simpler. with no car of their own, taking the train seemed like the next best bet— but, Birov worried for her family's safety.

"I don't know if people have seen the images of what it looks like at these train stations, I mean it looks like World War II," Birov said.  "It's hard enough for an able-bodied person to get there… [my aunt and uncle] aren't just able to do that."

After weeks of coordinating with NGOs and nonprofits on the ground in Ukraine, Birov was finally able to guide her aunt and uncle onto a bus to Poland, eventually making their way to O'Hare.

With her family safely in Chicago, Birov's turned her efforts toward helping other refugees out of the country.

"Anyone who's in contact with people there will tell you that they don't have, even though apparently, all these governments are sending over weapons, and all this. They don't have basic protective gear, These people… are not even soldiers. They're just civilians," Birov said.

She's been using her Instagram and now, a website she's constructed herself, to fundraise for those who either can not leave Ukraine or choose to stay, donating things like food, water— even military-grade defensive gear.

"I just went ahead and made a website, it's Defense for Ukraine.com. I've never made a website before, so I hope people will bear with me that I made in like, 40 minutes. It has all the possible ways that they can donate," Birov said.

"This is happening at a bigger scale here than I think we've seen in decades, but this happens in countries all over the world. I think it's hard in this 24-hour news cycle to take in all the pain honestly that is around us," Birov said. "But I hope that people will still try to think of to think about others and do what they can even if it's just an hour of your week."