The Dovbysh Orphanage has the Internet, Hooray! (02/04/2019)

We have connected the Internet to the Dovbysh orphanage.
Bright Kids, with the support of our main sponsor, financed the project to connect the Internet and also to repair computers for the orphanage.
We now hope to be able to offer online classes. This expansion also means that the children are brought closer to the world and have the opportunity to learn essential computing and Internet usage skills.
We are so grateful to have the financial means to develop such important projects.

 

Visiting Dovbysh (6/04/2019)

From planting trees, an English-language lesson, a cooking class, massage therapy, a creative master-class, a computer class, to girls trying prom dresses – we had a busy visit, which was all punctuated by the arrival of a parrot to the orphanage.
Our partner touristic company, Nordic Travel, and donor Mary Ivanchenko bought the trees and volunteers Elena Melnik, Olga Kuz, and Leonid Medushevskii planted them – thank you, guys!
Yulia Slabinskaya and Natalia Mikhailova hosted a creative master-class and enjoyed singing and dancing with the children.
Larisa, Tatiana Repa, and Yurii Rakotsi cooked with the children and made different delicacies – they were a hit!
The students also enjoyed healthy massages given by professional massage therapists who were led by Oleg Mikhailov.
Yurii Yatsenko and his sons, Arkhip and Akim, engaged with the kids in sports activities.
And…we got a pet parrot who will live in the orphanage!
We would like to invite you to join our team to get amazing experience working with children, sharing your skills, knowledge, and love!

 

Career Talks with Natalia Green (Parts 2-5) (8/04/2019)

Mila Brant was invited to Velyki Sorochintsy for Natalia’s Career Talks project.
This project has helped kids from the sanatorium orphanage learn more about themselves and define what career they want in the future.
The kids discovered their strengths and were introduced to various professions which are in demand in our society.
It is important to let these teenagers open up and talk about their hopes and dreams. It was an honor to be invited to such an event.
We thank the orphanage’s administration for welcoming us!
And also we would like to thank Natalia, Valentina, and Yulia for your hospitality and for organizing this event, which is of such high quality.
We hope to implement more projects together!

 

We are 6 months old! Celebrating our First Anniversary (13/04/2019)

We are grateful to our guests and volunteers for joining our 6 month anniversary event celebrated on the 13th of April.

During the meeting, we shared the results of our work while team members had the opportunity to meet each other in person or joined us virtually (Natalie Blinder, our executive director, along with a few other volunteers attended online). Guests gave us feedback on various projects and shared with us why they choose to be involved in charity work. We prepared small souvenirs for the volunteers – diplomas, mugs, notebooks, and pens with the Bright Kids logo. The end of the event was marked by cutting a delicious 5kg cake with our logo on it made by Inna Gabeliuk (we highly recommend Inna’s pastry-cooking service).

We are happy to see our team developing and have a lot of plans ahead, and your support is always welcomed. A special thank to Oksana Ilyenko for handcrafting amazing potholders for the kids, and for your financial contribution. We also would like to thank our project coordinators Olga Kuz, Yulia Slabinska, Natalia Green for your service, as well as Harrison Brant for help with videos and photos, Yuriy Rakotsi and Yuriy Yatsenko for help with transport and delivery, Alena Lisnevskaia (Kasianchuk Alena) for the delicious chocolates you made for our guests! Also, thank you to our smaller guests, children, Amerisis, Akim, Arkhip, and Aleksandra for joining us today.

This event was held at KWINS Hall Educational Space – Grand Passage, Kyiv, a comfortable and spacious place. We believe that by combining our efforts we are more able to help children living in boarding schools and orphanages to find their self-confidence and happiness, and offer them more opportunities in life.

 

Bright Kids Visit Valentina Vovk’s Orphanage (14/04/2019)

Today, our team paid a visit to Valentina Vovk’s orphanage, and we had a new member joining us. Tatiana Zolotykh, a manicure technician, volunteered to teach children the art of manicure over the next 2 months, and she will also provide the necessary materials. Her students had their first lesson today.
We are happy to have such kind-hearted volunteers as part of our team who are willing to share their knowledge with those less privileged!
The children surprised us with handmade dolls and postcards. They are beautiful and available for purchase (with all the money to be given to the kids).
Many of the boys at this orphanage have a serious interest in football. If you wish to help, they need uniforms, shoes and balls.
Thank you for all your support!

 

The Dovbysh Orphanage Receive Stationery (15/04/2019)

We would like to share with you one more good story for the day – Mikhail Makarov and VIP PRINT company (ВIП ПРИНТ), Kyiv, supplied the Dovbysh orphanage with stationery materials including printing paper, pens, notebooks and notepads all worth about UAH 5,000 (€170) – everything students need to study.
We would like to thank company director Aleksandr Lichnyi and the head of the department Aleksandr Punko.
A big thank you to Yulia Slabinska for organizing the project!

 

Bright Kids goes Green (16/04/2019)

With our support, Natalia Green launched her Eco Boom project in Velyki Sorochintsy (Poltava Oblast, Ukraine), which aims to create awareness among teenagers (5th and 6th graders) from a local orphanage about ecological and environmental problems.
We wish Natalia Green good luck with the project and we look forward to a news update.

 

Eco-Boom by Natalia Green, Part 2 (22/04/2019)

“On the 22nd of April, Natalia Green led the second part of her Eco-Boom project. Fifth and 6th graders from the Velyki Sorochyntsi sanatorium orphanage were taught how to behave in the outdoors, played an eco-friendly game and discussed ways to utilize recyclables.
Thank you our young friends for actively participating in the activities and showing your interest in preserving nature. It is especially great that our project was implemented on Earth Day 2019!
Thank you to the orphanage management team, Oleg Turbaba, and Natalia Lisitsa, and also Valentina and Yulia for your support! ”