We have made progress on the community center, thanks to you! Thank you so much for all the donations in April: $6805, to be exact. Wow!!! It added up quickly…
The community center space was rented and is now being renovated and outfitted for use by women, teens, and children. Last weekend, the work began, including cleaning, painting, installing carpeting, new flooring in the children’s area, hanging curtains, installing kitchen appliances, tables, chairs, laptops, IT network, shelving, and storage cabinets, a sofa, and bean bag chairs. And the daycare area will be outfitted with games, toys, and activities.
The work is beginning with the KDU team at the community center!
Volunteers cleaning the community center.
Here are the various activities your funds are making possible.
You are supporting Kraków Dębniki for Ukraine (KDU) a non-profit organization in the Kraków Dębniki District. To sustain the support (now in the third month of the war) for the 50 Polish host families and their 200 displaced Ukrainian guests. KDU is setting up a community center to serve as the hub for services, information, programs, training, and connection.
The programs and services to be offered beginning mid-May are:
Reception Area
– Pantry with food, clothes, personal hygiene, diapers, etc., for people to take when needed.
– Information pamphlets on schools, jobs, nurses, psychologists, Polish language classes, vocational training, and legalization services.
Women’s Center (moms and grandmoms)
– Women’s circles for connecting to community and socializing, job counseling for resume prep, job search, applications, etc.
– Entrepreneurial support for women that had their own business in Ukraine.
– Polish classes to learn the local language.
– English classes for those planning to move west to the EU or USA.
– Courses on IT and social media.
– Daycare for children so moms can work.
– Specialty workshops with guest speakers on finding jobs, attorneys, and doctors, giving support to caregivers, and providing a co-working space with laptops.
Teens
– Create a physical hang-out space with laptops, sofa, bean bag chairs, and snacks.
– Create volunteer opportunities/incentives with points and rewards or school credit.
- Painting, moving furniture, decorating center.
- Teaching IT to grandmoms and creating social media pages and websites.
- Packing and delivering foods and supplies.
– Create an online hang-out space.
– Summer camps and semi-camps (in town) beginning in July and August.
Little Ones
– Daycare drop off
– Activities, games, toys, naps, and books for learning, and social engagement.
– Grandmoms and teens volunteer here.
Lena and her two sons (the oldest pictured above), a resilient Ukrainian family, are part of the KDU community.
This is the story of one Ukrainian family you are supporting in Kraków. Lena and her two sons came from Poltava, Ukraine, when their husband/dad joined the army to defend Ukraine. The night they hurriedly left their home, they went to the train station to travel west. Missiles were exploding, so Lena and her sons took cover and slept on the bathroom floor between the toilets that first night. The next day, Lena’s mom, sister-in-law, and son joined Lena and her two sons. The group of six boarded the train heading west to live in the Polish town Łódź near the border, where Lena could work and provide for her sons.
Another path emerged. When Lena and her family disembarked from the train at the Polish border, Michal Piasecka waved to them and said, “Come with me. I will take you to Kraków.” Lena said, “We can’t afford to live in Kraków. We are heading to Łódź so I can work and support my family.” After a few back and forths, Lena relented, and she, her sons, and extended family went to Kraków and were hosted by Michal, his wife Olga, and their three children, ages 2-10.
Lena is still teaching English classes online to her Ukrainian students in Ukraine. Her oldest son is completing his first year at University in Kyiv. He hopes to transfer to Kraków Polytechnic University in the fall. Lena and her husband text or speak every morning and every night, so she ensures he is ok. Lena and her extended family are now in their own apartment. Michal and Olga’s generosity and love helped them get resettled in Poland. What a story! I am so fond of Lena and her oldest son…they both volunteer their time for others in the community while being displaced themselves. They are such kind people and have pure hearts.
Lena and her family were in the first wave of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees transported to Krakόw during the first two months of the war. As it turned out, Lena and her family were also the inspiration to Michal and Olga to join with their other friends and colleagues in Dębniki to find host families to assist their Ukrainian neighbors, much as they had done for Lena and her family. Skip forward to now, the beginning of May, 200 Ukrainians are being hosted by 50 families in the Dębniki District organized by Kraków Dębniki for Ukraine (KDU) and their legally established foundation Fundacja Kocham Dębniki. And now, Lena and her family volunteer to help others in their new Dębniki community. The kindness, courage, and determination inspire me to be a better me with my inconsequential first-world problems.
As you can see, the needs are significant for the displaced Ukrainians. Thank you so much for helping to support the community center. We can do so much together. Please share the good work of KDU and the importance of helping our friends start over in a country where they will be safe. And…please…let’s hope for peace! Be positive and stay safe.
Freedom is possible!
Much love,
Cindy and Dana
HOW TO MAKE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UKRAINIAN RELIEF INITIATIVE
All contributions are fully tax-deductible through HCC, our registered 501(c)(3) passthrough charity.
TO CONTRIBUTE BY CHECK:
Make your check payable to **Hispanic Community Council** – (VERY IMPORTANT: not to Ukraine Relief Initiative) and send it to the following address:
HCC – URI
c/o John Kersey
208 Liberty Street
Warren, PA 16365
Please indicate “Ukrainian Relief Initiative” in the check memo and include a note with your contact info (address, phone, email).
TO CONTRIBUTE ELECTRONICALLY BY PAYPAL:
Use this link: https://www.paypal.com/
In the memo, please include your name, address, phone #, and email so we can process your tax receipt.