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14 OUR LIFE • July-August 2022 As the school year was winding down, members of the Kiwanis Club of Martin County discussed ways the Kiwanis school-based youth service clubs could help Ukrainian children. It was decided that writing letters/cards to chil - dren who have become refugees was something they could possi - bly do. The idea was presented to the school-based Kiwanis club ad - visors, who immediately agreed it would be a great project. What we did not realize was what a challenge it would be to get the letters delivered! Not to be dis - couraged, however, at the next weekly meeting the president of our Kiwanis Club asked members to brainstorm ideas for distrib - uting the letters. We contacted numerous non-profits, religious organizations, and NGOs, but no one was able to help. Then we came upon a link for the UNWLA listed under Humanitari - an Aid to Ukraine on the Epiphany Ukrainian Catholic Church website. Using this link, we immediately emailed the organization’s VP of Public Relations, Olenka Krupa, who got the ball rolling. Before we knew it, Olya Czerkas from the St. Petersburg branch was able to have our letters sent along with other items being shipped from Kiwanis Club of Martin County, FL, Partners with UNWLA to Send Hand-Made Cards and Letters to Children in Ukraine Some of the Kiwanis cards and letters destined for children in Ukraine. her local parish, the Epiphany of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church. On April 11, Olya wrote: “The letters I received from you have been put into the packages and are ready to go when the boxes are shipped. I have taken many pictures of them because they truly are very touching. Again, thank you and the children for this beautiful thought of send - ing cards to Ukraine. It will bring some positive feelings during these difficult times.” Then, Oksana Piaseckyj from the Miami branch also had a contact for shipping letters. In addition, she helped translate some phrases into Ukrainian for the children to include in their cards and letters. On May 11, Oksana emailed that she was in contact with the per - son in Lviv who had the letters in hand and would deliver them to the children in the next few days. This news was reported at the Kiwanis Club weekly breakfast meeting on May 13, which some of the school-based club advi - sors and student officers also at - tended. The students excitedly described how their clubs wrote letters and made cards for the Ukrainian children as one of their club projects. They were gen - uinely thrilled to hear that the Jeff Carson, President , Kiwanis Club of Martin County Dianne Young, Member , Kiwanis Club of Martin County Kiwanis cards were shipped along with other items from the Epiphany of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church. cards were in Lviv and would be delivered within days. We received a very kind letter from Natalie Pawlenko, UNWLA Presi - dent, on behalf of the UNWLA. She thanked our Kiwanis Club for work - ing with the Kiwanis school-based clubs “to do something personal and touching for the Ukrainian children that will certainly bring a ray of sunlight into the lives of the recipients and reinforce that they are not forgotten.” We were also very impressed to learn from Na - talie that the UNWLA has sent hun - dreds of pallets of medical aid to key hospitals around Ukraine and concentrated funding on serving the internally displaced popula - tions. We saw this project as a great way for the Kiwanis school-based clubs to do something meaning - ful, while also showing Ukrainian children that there are children thousands of miles away who are thinking about them and send - ing them best wishes and love. This could not have been accom - plished without the help and dedication of the UNWLA.
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