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THE POTAPENKOS

Hi, my name is Valentyn (Val) Potapenko, I was born and raised in the city of Brovary about 10 miles from the capital of Kyiv. Most of my family is still located in or near Kyiv. For the time being, they are all alive. Some of my family have moved their wives and children west or to small villages outside of the city and some have returned to the city to work and protect what is left.

I have been trying to figure out what to do and how I can directly impact those close to my heart. My idea for this fundraiser is to support people and organizations that I know directly. Family members, friends, and local hospitals in Brovary are just some of my ideas.

As of April 18th, I officially became one of the board members for Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc., a Wisconsin-based 501c3 nonprofit organization and we have raised close to $500,000. In September I decided to leave the organization to pursue my own dreams of assisting not just the people in Ukraine but also the Ukrainian people in Wisconsin. If you have fundraiser or partnership ideas feel free to email me at valentyn.potapenko@gmail.com 

Thank you to all for helping to spread the word and for your donations.

Слава Україні 🇺🇦

WAYS TO HELP

GIFT TO ME PERSONALLY

As of April 26th, we have been gifted ~$57,000! We are endlessly grateful and thank you for your support.  We have sent over $40,000 directly to over ~30 families.  The rest of the money is used for medical supplies and shipping.  Some of the money was gifted to the family that we sponsored who came here with their 4-year-old daughter.  They lived with us from May to August and moved into their own place in August.

I am looking to raise money to cover the shipping costs and to send some money to Ukrainian people during the winter months.  If you would like to gift, please find me on Venmo at @Valentyn-Potapenko or in PayPal at @valentynpotapenko

You can also shop on the Amazon list to purchase goods and supplies. Purchased items will ship directly to me,  and we will make sure it gets to the people on the ground in Ukraine.

Thank you all so much.

LATEST UPDATES

Blog

4/26/22 Blog #8

28 April

While looking through the pictures to include with this post I came across this one. This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandma Halina and her sister Tania who came to the United States after World War 2. She is the reason why we have an amazing family in the United States. There […]

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Blog

4/19/22 Blog #7

27 April

Last night was my first official board meeting as a Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc. board member. I met a lot of amazing members and got a really good idea of what’s to come. I can honestly say that the board has done a lot of work in such a short period of time, but I think […]

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Blog

4/6/22 – Blog #6

7 April

Day 42 of this war…. ill start with the fundraiser and end with what I know from people on the ground.   As of this moment, we have raised $45,230. We have sent $21,500 to families in Ukraine. 255 items from the Amazon list (hard to estimate but my guess is it’s about ~$10,000 worth of […]

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03/08/2022 – THANK YOU! My First Blog Post

9 March

Hi everyone! Val(entyn) Potapenko here. Thank you for finding our site and being interested in learning more. With some nudging from my wife, I am going to begin blogging a bit. Please go easy on me – English is my third language. Even professionals have editors, right? I hope this blog can serve as space […]

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3/29/2022 – Blog #5

30 March

Fundraiser Update: As of this moment we have raised $40,339.22 from 504 donations. We have sent $27,500 to families that I or my grama knows. 241 items from the Amazon list have been purchased and shipped to me. My cousin Steven began Bike for Ukraine fundraiser on PayPal, check it out if you haven’t, there […]

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3/22/2022 – Blog #4

23 March

Fundraiser Update: As of this moment we have raised $35,542.28. We have sent $23,500 to 19 families. We spend about $3500 on last-second material such as tourniquets, and for shipping the goods. All of you have purchased 198 items from the Amazon list. This week I have received money from kids selling lemonade down the […]

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3/16/2022 – Blog #3

21 March

Just wanted to update everyone about what we are doing. 1. We have raised $28945 and more is coming. Thank you all who have donated. 2. I want to thank ASP and Molly Huhn for donating 342 LED flashlights. Thank you so much, everything was shipped today and should be there in a week. 3. […]

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03/11/2022 – Blog Post #2

14 March

Fundraiser Update: We are currently up to $28538 in cash donations and 115 items purchased from the Amazon list.  My mind is blown.  Each day we receive multiple deliveries. I love coming home from work and seeing the large piles of boxes at our door.  Your support has been awesome.  When I communicate with family, […]

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Ukraine Help From Milwaukee