Following our commitment to transparency of operations, we are happy to share our impact report for January- June 2024.
Our nation-wide advocacy efforts have become even more important as the russian war against Ukraine drags into its third year. The first half of 2024 was marked by several important events and developments for Ukraine and our responses as an organization.
February 24, 2024, marked two years since the beginning of the war and ten years since the launch of the russian military invasion of Ukraine. That month, UNWLA became a community partner of the global campaign “Believe in Ukraine,” joining rallies in all major cities across the U.S.
Pictured: rally in San Francisco, CA
Our members petitioned to light up landmarks in New York and Philadelphia in blue and yellow.
Pictured: Empire State Building in NY lit up in yellow and blue, New York
March 2024 was marked by the adoption of H.Res.149, condemning Russia’s illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. Soyuzianky have been advocating for the resolution since its introduction in early 2023.
In April 2024, UNWLA became a silver sponsor ($10,000) of the American Coalition for Ukraine (ACU) Action Summit, and was one of the driving forces behind the Summit. The Spring Summit gathered over 500 attendees from 47 states, representing over 100 Ukraine-focused non-profit organizations and volunteers.
This Action Summit offered two days of expert panel discussions, networking, a community organizations exhibition, and over 300 advocacy meetings on the Hill. Over 30 UNWLA members from different states joined the Summit in various capacities – from being first-time delegates to leading state delegations and being part of the Summit organizing team. As a silver sponsor, UNWLA had a information and member sign-up table prominently set up in the networking zone.
In the weeks following the Summit, vital funding for Ukraine was introduced for a vote in Congress, passed by the Senate, and signed by the President of the U.S. into law.
In June 2024, the ACU formalized its’ status as non-profit organization, pending 501c3 approval.
UNWLA Member-at-large and Chair of the UNWLA Advocacy Committee Marianna Tretiak became President of the ACU Board of Directors. UNWLA officially became a founding member of the ACU, continuing our century-old work of advocating for Ukraine and its people.
On June 1st, the UNWLA’s initiative “Return Ukraine’s Children,” chaired by UNWLA member Marta Fedoriw, organized a national campaign “Children Praying for Children.” Over ten prayer events were held across the country, including an ecumenical prayer in Ukraine House in Washington, D.C., in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S.
Pictured: students of the School of Ukrainian Studies in Washington, D.C., with Ambassador Oksana Markarova, speakers of the event, and religious leaders who led the prayer service
UNWLA continues to support access to EDUCATION for Ukrainians through scholarships and educational initiatives tailored for different groups of students and scholars.
UNWLA members have underwritten the costs of over 334 stipends for students in Ukraine, totaling $69,200.
Pictured: Students in Lviv, Ukraine, receiving stipends
In June 2024, UNWLA became one of the sponsors of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) Translation Institute – $5000. The Translating Ukraine Summer Institute in Wroclaw, Poland, aimed to address the shortage of Ukrainian translators in the academic and cultural sectors. Organized by Harvard University, Columbia University, Cambridge University, the University of Alberta, Kolegium Europy Wschodniej, and New Eastern Europe and led by faculty and experienced professionals, the intensive twelve-day training session supported emerging and mid-career translators in literary and academic translation.
UNWLA continues its cooperation with the VOVK Foundation and for the second year in a row will issue a $4000 stipend to an exceptional Ukrainian-American student studying in the USA. We facilitated the application process. Results will be announced by August 31st.
The UNWLA Eva Staszkiw Fund will once again issue a $3000 stipend to help cover the educational expenses of a Ukrainian student in the USA. Results will be announced by August 31st.
In June 2024, UNWLA entered into a cooperative agreement with Ukraine Global Scholars (UGS). UGS facilitates the placement of Ukrainian students from modest backgrounds into top boarding schools and colleges in the U.S. on full scholarships. UNWLA is committed to helping recruit host families for the students and providing informational support.
In June 2024, UNWLA signed a memorandum of understanding with ENGin to help recruit more volunteers and provide Ukrainians with access to live English practice. ENGin pairs Ukrainians with volunteers from around the world to conduct weekly online speaking sessions. They screen every learner and volunteer to ensure their fit for the program and provide training and orientation.
“Music, in its most beautiful form, is a universal language that speaks directly from the heart,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN, Serhiy Kyslytsia, said at the opening of the Ukrainian Music Competition Finalists Gala in Carnegie Hall.
In January 2024, the UNWLA New Jersey Regional Council, together with the Young Performers Foundation, various partners, sponsors, and the support of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN, organized the first Ukrainian Music Competition Finalists Gala in Carnegie Hall.
In February, UNWLA issued a $2500 sponsorship for a Concert and Discussion to celebrate the release of a new album by Dr. Solomiya Ivakhiv, on NAXOS – UKRAINIAN MASTERS. The event was organized in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute of America in NYC.
UNWLA provides our members and volunteers with educational opportunities by organizing lectures and meetings with recognized scholars.
In April 2024, we organized an online presentation by Dr Oksana Kis, a feminist historian and anthropologist. Dr. Kis explored Ukrainian women’s experiences of survival and resistance under extraordinary historical circumstances, including during the Holodomor (Great Famine 1932-33), in the Ukrainian nationalist anti-Soviet underground in the mid-20th century, in Stalin’s Gulag, and in post-socialist countries.
In March, UNWLA issued a sponsorship ($4000) for the documentary “Mariupol. Survivors.” This film tells the stories of three women who lost their homes and loved ones in Mariupol but managed to escape occupation. They share their memories of those harrowing events, helping raise awareness of war crimes committed by the russian army. The movie is available for community screenings and fundraising events. Watch reel here
Pictured: still frame from the movie, Ukrainian Mariupol before war
In April, we issued a mini-grant ($1000) to support a major retrospective exhibition of Alla Horska’s works that took place in Kyiv in March-April, 2024. Alla Horska was a prominent Ukrainian artist, a monumentalist painter dissident, murdered on the order of the KGB in 1970. The exhibition is the first one of such a scale and will be accompanied by a catalog prepared by the publishing house Rodovid. The catalog (200pp. 1000 copies) will be in two languages (Ukrainian/English) and include images of the exhibition and articles by renowned Ukrainian art historians.
UNWLA provided a mini-grant ($1000) for the screening at film festivals of the short movie “Black Raven.” It depicts the witnesses of Joseph Stalin’s Holodomor Genocide of Ukrainians in 1932-33 and is intended to continue to tell this story to the world.
Marika Kuzma received a mini-grant ($1000) from UNWLA to finish recordings of the Christmas carols to accompany her book “Carols of Birds, Bells and Sacred Hymns of Ukraine”.
UNWLA issued a sponsorship ($1500) for the “Thank You American People” tour by the Cultural Forces. Cultural Forces is an organization within Ukraine’s Armed Forces ranks that unites professional musicians, singers, and composers who enlisted in the Army after Russia launched its war on Ukraine. They combine active military duty with regular performances to support the morale and mental state of the soldiers and educational initiatives for military units. In May and June 2024, they toured the U.S. to extend Ukraine’s thanks for America’s continued support of Ukraine.
Pictured: photos from the event in Dallas, TX
UNWLA issued a sponsorship ($500) for a photo exhibition about the effect of the war on Ukrainian athletes, dedicated to the beginning of the Olympic Games in Paris, France. The exhibition was officially launched in June in Kyiv and will be displayed in Paris during the Olympic Games.
Image from the exhibition in Kyiv
The humanitarian situation in Ukraine is dire, as each russian attack brings property destruction, injuries, and death to civilians. UNWLA continues to raise funds to support Ukrainian hospitals, women on the frontline, children, and to provide relief to people during emergencies.
Between January and June 2024, we delivered nearly $340,000 worth of medical supplies to hospitals in Ukraine. The delivered aid includes blood clotting medication and single-use components for wound vac machines.
Video of one of the deliveries to the hospital in Volyn
In May, russia launched a new offensive campaign on the Kharkiv region, targeting populated areas and prompting many families to leave their homes. Many villages and towns were under heavy artillery and missile attacks. The humanitarian situation was worsening by the hour. UNWLA has been working with the AICM foundation to provide emergency relief to affected people. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to send $25,000 to support their efforts and help the Ukrainian people.
Video: social media reel to support fundraising effort for Kharkiv, featuring aid procured with UNWLA emergency donation
In April, a fundraising event organized in cooperation with the Young Ukrainian Professionals in NYC took place in the Ukrainian Institute of America. The “Sunflower Gala” raised funds for UNWLA’s initiatives to support Ukrainian children.
In January and June, we sent $40,000 in total to sponsor recreational camps for children in foster care, those whose parents are on active duty, those who lost their parents in the war, and children from internally displaced families. Each time, children spent almost two weeks in the Carpathian region (Western Ukraine), accompanied by their guardians, educators, and psychologists. In total, we were able to sponsor much-needed rest for over 300 children.
We continue our initiative “Babusi” in cooperation with the Ukrainian Women’s League, Ukraine (UWL), to support retired women in Ukraine. This time cash grants totalling $14,000 were provided to 90 women in dire straits. . We additionally sponsored funerals for three single elderly women in Ukraine, who had previously been cared for by volunteers of UWL.
We supported the shelter “Way to Life” in Lutsk with the sum of $10,000. This money was used to cover a three month supply of food and basic necessities for 250 residents and internally displaced persons.
To date, over 60,000 Ukrainian women have enlisted in the Ukrainian army. However, the army does not have a proper supply of uniforms tailored to the female body, adding hardships to already strained women. We partnered with the Ukrainian NGO Zemliachky to support Ukrainian women on active military duty. During our winter campaign with Zemliachky, we raised $113,000 to purchase uniforms and other personal items for women on the frontlines.
video: overview and report from Zemliachky on uniforms purchase
War has a devastating impact on the mental health of Ukrainians. We partnered with the SWUA Mental Health initiative in Ukraine to fund access to free mental health services for Ukrainian people. Our sponsorship of $16,500 will cover the work of five psychology professionals for the next three months and will help the Ukrainian people remain resilient in the face of brutal Russian aggression.
