Results of the year 2021

Results of the year 2021

This year has been filled with many exciting events and inspiring guests for the Karpinski Foundation. The year kicked off with the addition of new scholarship recipients, and we celebrated passing the 100th scholarship holder milestone. Our team also organized a new youth festival, where previous scholarship holders mentored and shared their experiences with the new generation. The foundation has also remained committed to supporting the church and sports life of the Stryi region. We believe that by investing in our community, we can create a society of successful and fulfilled individuals who will make positive changes in our city and country.

As Henry Ford once said, “If human compassion moves us to feed the hungry, why not use that compassion to achieve more, to eliminate hunger altogether?” The Karpinski Foundation shares this vision and aims to empower young people through our programs. The My First Scholarship program remains a top priority, as we work towards creating a brighter future for the next generation.

This year, we have accomplished a lot of work for our scholarship holders. We welcomed 39 new teenagers to the program through two sets of IX and X, and we are proud to have surpassed the milestone of the first hundred scholarship holders with a total of 134 beneficiaries.

In addition, we conducted several courses that are crucial for their personal and professional growth, including two public speaking courses, a career guidance course, and two 4C courses that emphasize critical thinking, communication, creativity, and teamwork. We also had the privilege of having previous scholarship holders as experts in some courses. For instance, Kateryna Korpalo, a second cohort scholarship holder, led a crash course on “Understanding Europe” for younger cohorts.

Two “Festivals of Public Speaking among teenagers” were also held, where scholarship holders showcased their newfound public speaking skills without fear and presented their thoughts and experiences in front of a sizable audience. It was inspiring to hear them talk about important topics such as sign language, modern education, teenage depression, and how they see Ukraine through their eyes. Mastering public speaking at the age of 14 offers them many opportunities in the future.

Furthermore, we successfully launched the YaStryi youth festival, which aims to bring together active young people with the desire to develop, broaden their horizons, and achieve their goals. The goal was to show our scholarship holders and their friends the range of opportunities available to them and emphasize that working on oneself always leads to success. The two-day festival aimed to encourage teenagers to aim for high-quality goals in life and understand their path to achieve them. We invited special speakers such as Roman Lozynsky, Pavlo Hud, Oleksandr Magun, Oleksandr Solontai, Volodymyr Stancyshyn, Nadiya Herbish, and Natalia Rybka-Parkhomenko to speak on various topics. We also prepared a creative area and dances to entertain the teenagers and distract them from the intellectual part of the event. The festival ended on a high note with a fantastic musical performance.

We are proud of our scholarship holders’ contributions to this festival. They baked goodies, took pictures and videos, organized a flash mob and a knightly tournament, welcomed guests, and helped set up the area. It was a tremendous responsibility, and they did a fantastic job handling it.

We are thrilled to have continued our Best Brain game project, which offers an intellectually stimulating and fun activity for teenagers in the Stryi region. This one-of-a-kind game provides a platform for teenagers to test their knowledge and logical reasoning skills while enjoying themselves, which is more important now than ever.

In collaboration with the Youth Nationalist Congress, we hosted the Oleksa Gasyn Forge of the Conscious board game event for our scholarship recipients. This competition is designed to celebrate bravery and a love for one’s country while encouraging teamwork and overcoming obstacles. Participants were divided into two teams and worked together to achieve victory.

We also supported a Valentine’s Day event organized by our scholarship recipients and the youth organization “Loveina,” which featured professional speakers and psychologists discussing topics such as relationships, emotions, and sexual education. It was an important occasion where teenagers could engage with topics that are particularly relevant to their age group.

We were thrilled to have Vakhtang Kipiani, a renowned Ukrainian journalist, historian, publicist, and editor of the publication Istorychna Pravda, visit Stryi to present his book “The Case of Vasyl Stus.” The book sheds light on the criminal case, life, and death of Vasyl Stus, a Ukrainian poet and writer. Through the collection of archival documents, witnesses’ testimonies, letters from the poet from prison, and memoirs of his family and friends, the book offers a unique and insightful perspective on this important figure in Ukrainian literature. We were honored to have Mr. Kipiani share his expertise with our community and inspire us to learn more about our cultural heritage. Mr. Kipiani is also the founder of the Museum-Archive of the Press in Kyiv and a laureate of the Georgiy Gongadze Prize, making his visit to Stryi a truly special occasion.

We organized two insightful lectures in Stryi featuring Olga Rudneva.

 

The first lecture focused on empowering women and was open to all interested individuals. Olga, the coordinator of the “I Can!” project, shared her expertise on strengthening the role of women and promoting women’s mentoring. With her extensive experience heading the Elena Pinchuk Foundation and her expertise in social corporate responsibility and fundraising, Olga is recognized as one of Ukraine’s top 100 successful women. The lecture encouraged a dialogue where participants had the opportunity to ask questions, share stories, and discuss topics such as gender distribution.

 

The second lecture was geared towards teenagers and covered important aspects of sexuality education. Olga, who has been involved in launching various AIDS initiatives and heads the Dialog Hub, Ukraine’s first sexuality education space, provided valuable insights and guidance on the topic.

We had the privilege of hosting Andriy Zelinsky, a multi-talented individual, in Stryi. During his visit, he shared his inspiring insights on personal growth, leadership, and happiness. In his talk, he emphasized the importance of nurturing our spirits and constantly expanding our knowledge to achieve our goals and motivate others.

Andriy Zelinsky is an accomplished lecturer at the Ethics-Politics-Economics program of UCU and co-founder of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy. He is a political scientist, publicist, author, and priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. With extensive international academic and practical experience, he has launched several successful social and club initiatives, such as the “Be Happy!” English-language club, and has received various awards for his work, including recognition for his service as a military chaplain during the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

We provided financial support for the visit of Max Kidruk, a highly acclaimed Ukrainian writer, to the Book Fair in Stryi. Max is not just a writer, but also a passionate traveler and science popularizer. His impressive collection of works includes “Don’t Look Back and Be Silent,” “Cruel Sky,” “Until the Light Fades Forever,” and the captivating dilogy “Bot.” It’s no surprise that his novels “Look Into My Dreams” and “Where There Is No God” were shortlisted for the prestigious BBC Book of the Year Award. Max’s literary talent knows no bounds, with his works translated into various languages including Polish, German, and Czech.

We have been proud to actively support the spiritual life of the community in Stryi. 

With our help, a beautiful memorial chapel was erected for the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, providing a place of contemplation and prayer for visitors and locals alike. 

In addition, we have contributed financially to the construction of the Church of All Saints of the Ukrainian People, a symbol of faith and community for the people of Stryi. 

We have also proudly supported the Ukrainian Youth of Christ, an organization dedicated to empowering young people to live their lives in accordance with Christian values and principles.

We provided financial support for an exciting initiative to register the “largest human chain in the colors of the national flag” in the Ukrainian Book of Records.

In collaboration with Lan TV Channel, Radio Fresh FM, and Stryi FM, we helped organize a successful event on August 24, 2021, where residents dressed in blue and yellow assembled near the City Council. Together, they formed a 455-meter-long flag of Ukraine by creating a human chain along Shevchenko Street. This achievement is now registered in the Ukrainian Book of Records, and we are proud to have supported this patriotic and unifying initiative.

In 2021, we once again supported the Path of the Unconquered, a training camp for young, conscious individuals.

The camp, co-founded by one of our scholarship recipients, aims to empower and support patriotic youth who are committed to taking responsibility for the country and promoting Ukrainian values in their respective fields.

In the summer, we continued our tradition of supporting the annual trip of the Stryi sports veterans’ organization to Hoverla. Every year, on the eve of Independence Day, they gather to climb the highest peak in Ukraine and dedicate this ascent to Ukraine, the Heavenly Hundred, fallen soldiers, and everyone who loves the mountains. The veterans set an excellent example of a healthy lifestyle and show that age is not a barrier to staying active and pursuing one’s passions.

Thanks to the Karpinski Foundation’s support, TeleLan has recently installed modern optics and provided Internet access to the Stryi Young Naturalists’ Station. Since 2007, Telelan has been offering free Internet services to educational institutions and clubs in the area. Currently, 38 institutions, including schools, libraries, kindergartens, gymnasiums, music and art schools, and an orphanage, have been benefiting from this program. By providing equal access to information, we are striving to create more favorable learning conditions for children from different families and promote equal opportunities for all.

Towards the end of this year, Maria Karpinska and Kristina Bereznyanska organized a charity event called Fairy Tale Time.

It was a real holiday for children and their parents. While the kids were playing, competitions and master classes were held, sociologist Pavlo Kanyuga gave a lecture to adults.

The Karpinski Foundation doubled the amount raised and redirected the funds to buy gifts for children from low-income families.

In 2021, our charity provided support to a wide range of organizations, including the Stryi branch of PLAST, the military unit, the newspaper Dieslovo, and the Sheptytsky Stryi Gymnasium. We also contributed to the safety of St. Sigmund’s kindergarten by installing “umbrellas” for protection from the summer sun.

Additionally, we purchased a laminator for the Pidhirtsi Special School for Orphans and Children with Special Needs to produce handouts for their students. We also acquired a special crossbar for workout classes.

Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic and quarantine, we continued our mission and helped many people and organizations throughout the year. It was a productive year, and we look forward to making an even greater impact in the future. Join us in our mission to create a better world for everyone.