4/26/22 Blog #8

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 is tons to this picture but I think it speaks for itself. These amazing women made us who we are today and gave us a chance to be in this amazing country full of opportunities and support.

Ok here are the updates from the last two weeks. This can be much longer but ill try to make it brief.

Family Updates

Most families have returned to Brovary and the surrounding villages. One of my cousins returned to their house where the Russian soldiers lived for the whole month. They have been repairing all of the damage that was done by the Russian military but compare to the neighbors they are fortunate to return to a hose. Neighbors in their neighborhood had some of their homes burned down or shelled. The school and the kindergarten were also burned down when the Russians were leaving. My long-term goal is to assist with the rebuilding efforts of the school and/or kindergarten. Some family members have decided to stay in Poland and in western Ukraine. I am currently working on getting some of our family members to the United States. If they do come here I will be reaching out to all of you for assistance. I am saving some of the funds to assist with renting a place but they will need help finding jobs and other expenses that they might have. The applications were turned in today so I will keep everyone updated about that.

My cousins Steve Wenglowsky trip came to an end and so did his fundraiser. Steve has raised close to $7,000. Thank you, Steve. Check out his post on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/…/steve-wenglowsky-0536731…Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc.

Military Updates

I am talking with the guys daily and sending them things that they request. I am refocusing my efforts on summer items and still sending medical items that can be found on my amazon list. I really don’t want to discuss too much about this, mainly for safety reasons. I am getting images and videos of them opening packages and sharing things with other battalions.

Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc Update

We have raised over ~$150,000Drives, apparel sales, fundraisers, golf outings, an amazon list, and others things that we working on can be found mainly on our Facebook page. Thank you to my uncle Mike Mural for packing and shipping all of the packages through Meest to Lviv. Currently, we noticed that some of our packages sat in the warehouse in Chicago for a week and a half, so it’s quicker to take a round trip to Poland and hand off the life-saving supplies to Barry with War Uber. Check their story if you haven’t done so. Barry has done a lot to help Wisconsin Ukrians Inc and the people of Ukraine. Thank you Barry and our board members families and friends that are assisting us in our mission to help in any way we can. If you or someone is willing to donate a flight/miles to Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc. for us to mainly take critical medical supplies please let me know.

UMANA Wisconsin Update

1st drive on April 11th we were able to pack 43 pallets around 10 tons & on April 23rd they were able to pack 92 pallets around 15 tons of medical supplies that is going directly to hospitals in Ukraine. Amazing work by Douglas Davoha and all who have donated and helped sort items.

Awareness

Yard signs are free and available, email me at valentyn.potapenko@gmail.com The only thing I ask for is a donation on our website ukrainemke.com . The other connection I made last week was with Power of Humans and they have decided to donate 100% of proceeds to Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc. I just received my sweatshirt and now Mandy Potapenko wants one for herself. In my other post, you will see some of the NBA players wearing them. Here is the link to the support Ukraine storefront https://power-of-humans.myshopify.com/collections/ukraine I don’t know how to thank all of you for your support. Follow, share, like the organization I mentioned, and donate if you can. This is a long-term humanitarian mission for me personally and the organizations mentioned above. People in Ukraine thank me every day for all of your kindness and support. THANK YOU & Слава Україні