December 16, 2016

Christmastime giving

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Dear readers, are you done with your Christmas shopping? Have you taken care of everyone on your list? But what about your favorite charities and organizations? Have you taken care of them at this gift-giving time of year?

There’s still time during the Christmas season – which for Ukrainians extends over two calendars, the Gregorian and the Julian – to help those in need and to support those deserving of our gratitude.

Here are some examples of how our readers and community members have been responding.

Members of both Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and the Ukrainian American Youth Association have been sending packages to Ukraine to brighten the lives of children whose parents were or are participants of the war in Ukraine’s Donbas. Many of them are also internally displaced and now live in regions far from home. One Plast group in our area sent hats, gloves and scarves to children who now live in western Ukraine and the package arrived just before the latest cold spell hit the region. UAYA members in our area and beyond sent a variety of gifts – clothing, toys, school backpacks, etc. – to various parts of Ukraine. According to a post on Facebook, the gifts are now being distributed in the Khmelnytsky region. What is notable is that both Plast and UAYA are working with their organizations’ colleagues on the ground, who know what is most needed and where.

The United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, which has a track record of service to needy Ukrainians that spans more than seven decades, provided over $1 million in aid to Ukraine in 2015 alone. This year it continues its good work through programs such as “Adopt a Wounded Ukrainian Soldier,” which has now served over 480 soldiers since it was begun in November 2014; and “Family to Family,” which helps families of deceased and wounded soldiers, as well as refugees, who find themselves in difficult circumstances.

The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America has a number of ongoing projects to help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Among them is one that helps needy elderly women through the “Babusia Fund” and another that supports “Prostir Nadiyi,” the new Mental Health Institute at Lviv’s Ukrainian Catholic University that treats those suffering from PTSD.

These are only a scant few examples of the good work being done by our fellow community members and our organizations, and we’re sure there are plenty of others that our readers know about. So, we ask you to think again about whether you’ve fulfilled your Christmas list in this season of giving.

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