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Summer Camp for Refugee Children in Ukraine

Help send internally displaced (refugee) kids in Ukraine to summer camp.

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Summer Camp for Refugee Children in Ukraine

Summer Camp for Refugee Children in Ukraine

Summer Camp for Refugee Children in Ukraine

Summer Camp for Refugee Children in Ukraine

Summer Camp for Refugee Children in Ukraine

Help send internally displaced (refugee) kids in Ukraine to summer camp.

Help send internally displaced (refugee) kids in Ukraine to summer camp.

Help send internally displaced (refugee) kids in Ukraine to summer camp.

Help send internally displaced (refugee) kids in Ukraine to summer camp.

Clinton White
Clinton White
Clinton White
Clinton White
4 Campaigns |
Uzhgorod, Ukraine
$3,218 USD 29 backers
60% of $5,310 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 4 Projects Mountain Filled 4 Projects

Summary

  • There's never been a more important time for what Ruka Dopomogy does in Ukraine. Because of the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine young people are searching for hope for their future.  In recent months the Ukrainian currency (Hryvnia) has dropped dramatically against the US Dollar (from 8:1 to more than 30:1 at one point) yet income has not increased at all! As a result, summer camp, especially for vulnerable children such as those displaced by the war in the east, is a financial impossibility!
  • Igor Minenko is President of Ruka Dopomogy, a 17 year old Ukrainian Charity Fund (non-profit). RD has trained hundreds of youth workers in churches all over Ukraine how to build Jesus Focused Youth Ministries.  Before leading RD, he was the youth pastor at one of the largest youth ministries in Kiev.  Under his leadership Ruka Dopomogy has sponsored Summer Youth & Children Camps in western Ukraine since 2010. He also serves as the Director of Youth Alpha Course in Ukraine.

What We Need

  •  $29.50 USD will sponsor a child or teenager for one week of summer camp. Last year camp cost 200 Hryvnia  (about $25 USD) per week.  Not expensive, right? Today, that same $25.00 USD = about 600 UAH, and remember, Ukrainian wages have NOT increased. The kids and families we work with, especially displaced children and their families cannot afford a 200% increase. For the amount of money your teenager will spend on snacks and fast food on the way to camp, you can sponsor a Ukrainian Child or Teenager for a week of camp. 
  • Our camp is small but awesome! Our capacity is only about 60 kids per week and because of time limitations at our venue we can only host 3 camps. Expenses are low because facilities are shockingly sparse and Staff pay their own way. There are no salaries! 85% of your donation (85% of $29.50= $25.00) will sponsor a week of camp for a child or teenager. 15% will be shared with International Teams-US, our parent ministry/US 501c3 based in Elgin, Illinois and cover the cost of using Indigogo and/or Paypal.
  • Our goal of $5310 will fully fund all three camps at maximum capacity. If we raise more then International Teams and Ruka Dopomogy will help fund additional ministries with refugee and at-risk children.

The Impact

  • Many of the kids we're ministering with are facing an uncertain future. Many of them have fled their homes in war torn eastern Ukraine and may not ever return. They are stressed and their parents are stressed. You contribution will give them a week of respite in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. They'll sleep in tents, they'll hike the mountains, swim the river, and sing around campfires. They'll practice English, they'll play games and participate in competitions. They'll hear the Gospel every day and they'll be loved and cared for by veteran youth workers from among the churches Ruka Dopomogy has trained.
  • 2015 is the fifth year of our camping ministry. Up until last summer we were seeing a lot of "repeat" kids from the churches we've coached. Beginning last summer we started receiving children and teens who were displaced by the war; the need is even greater this summer.

Camp Staff

  • Our camps are staffed with full-time workers from International Teams and Ruka Dopomogy Staff along with volunteers from local and participating churches. This summer a team of "World Racers" (www.worldrace.org) from Canada and the US will serve with us.

Other Ways You Can Help

  • Spread the word for us through email and all forms of social media.
  • Pray for us.
  • You can donate through Indiegogo to our US parent organization, International Teams. You can also give via Paypal directly to Igor Minenko's account (http://www.paypal.com to "iminenko@ukr.net").
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Choose your Perk

Camp Picture

$40 USD
It's not much, but if you give us $40 you'll not only sponsor a kid for a week at camp but we'll mail you a Group Picture at the end of the week...you can pick one of the kids in the picture and tell everyone you paid for him or her to attend camp!
Estimated Shipping
August 2015
3 claimed

Photo & PostCard from Ukraine

$60 USD
$60 sponsors two kids, of course. If you do that we'll not only send you a Camp Photo at the end of our last camp in mid-July but we will immediately send you a souvenir postcard (Thank You note) from Uzhgorod, Ujraine. Please allow 3-5 weeks for delivery- they might still use Pony Express here!
2 claimed

Picture, Letter, & Dossier

$100 USD
For $100 we'll send you the group picture, a personal letter from Igor and the Staff and we'll create a "dossier" about one of the kids you sent to camp.
Estimated Shipping
August 2015
0 claimed

Camp Staff for a week or more

$2,500 USD
Subject to being accepted as a short-term volunteer through International Teams USA, for $2500 we'll fly you to Budapest, Hungary and bring you by train to Ukraine where you'll spend the week with us in tents, taking cold showers, and eating camp food and seeing firsthand what we do and what the need is in western Ukraine among refugees
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
0 out of 3 of claimed

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