Turnstile Collection
Firstly the result from our turnstile collection at the Hibernian v Aberdeen match. Thanks to a great turnout of volunteers willing to shake a bucket for an hour before the match, we managed to collect the amazing amount of £2,300.
Thank you to everyone that donated, a big thank you to the Aberdeen supporters who donated very generously at the away end of the stadium. And I’d like to give a personal thank you to everyone that volunteered to shake a bucket, without so many volunteers we wouldn’t have managed anywhere near this figure.
New Arrival at Hasanskaya Orphanage
There was another new arrival at the Hasanskaya orphanage recently. Twelve year old Dima entered the orphanage system last year, after his mother passed away. He spent a short period of time in one of the bigger temporary stay orphanages before arriving at the Hasanskaya orphanage. As many of you that have read the previous updates will know, the Hasanskaya orphanage has been building a sort of “halfway house” for the older kids that are having to leave the orphanage (with many going on to further education). This has meant that there were spare beds, and mother Ludmilla has been quick to fill them with children in need of some love.
Ludmilla invited Dnipro Kids to come and meet Dima, and our Ukraine-based Dnipro Kids worker, Natalie, visited him earlier in the month. We asked Ludmilla if Dima was needing anything, and Ludmilla told us he would love a nice sports outfit for school .. so we bought him a tracksuit and trainers.
Birthday Trip to Bowling
For the Spring birthday trip the older kids wanted to go bowling, with the smaller ones wanting to go to the amusement arcade. Thankfully the City Most Centre has both!
The kids had a great time…
…and, while they had fun, the orphanage mothers also had the opportunity to relax and catch up on how they were getting along.
After the games the kids were all treated to a meal and, as usual, they chose pizza!
Followed by a tasty dessert – Napoleon cake.
At the end of the meal each of the children was given their birthday gifts. Maxim asked for a pair of trainers, and Danil ask for a couple of hoodies…
Dima asked for a nice watch, and Artem made the unusual request for a pair of hair clippers!
Vika asked for an MP3 player (with headphones) and Natasha asked for a lovely leather back pack.
Kiril asked for a sweatshirt and a bag for school…
…and little Vova got a cool fire engine, a colouring book and some pens.
The kids had a great birthday trip, and said a huge thank you to Dnipro Kids.
Michael Kerr Marathon Fundraising
Michael Kerr is Dnipro Kids’ solo runner in the London Marathon, and his fundraising efforts continue.
Last Saturday, after the Hibs v Aberdeen game, Michael held a fundraising evening at the Ukrainian Club on Royal Terrace, Edinburgh.
After helping out with the turnstile collection he sprinted up to the club (good training for the run, Michael) and helped get everything prepared for his fundraising evening.
There was live music from local band The 62 and some fundraising events during the course of the evening, including a raffle near the end.
Michael raised around £400 on the night, which takes his current total to around £1,200.
If you’d like to sponsor Michael, you can donate using the link below.
http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/mikekerrlondon2018
Condolences to the Murdoch Family
We would like to pass our condolences to Lynn Murdoch and family after the passing of her husband Frank, on January the 18th. At the funeral Lynn asked for any donations to go to Dnipro Kids, and £450 was donated to the charity.
Frank was a big Hibs supporter, and Lynn told me that he would often show her the online updates about the orphanage kids in Ukraine.
Easter Trip
Progress in planning our big Easter Trip to the Carpathian mountains in Western Ukraine is nearing the final stages. All the orphanages that we support are starting to get quite excited about this trip, with the anticipation of castles, mountains and a visit to the lovely city of L’viv.
This will be our most expensive venture of the coming year though, so if you are able to help out with the costs then ‘please support our work’ below (or get in touch if you’d like to join the many sponsors that make a monthly contribution).
Please Support Our Work
If you don’t make a monthly donation but would still like to contribute towards our fundraising efforts, please visit our donations page.
Many thanks.
Steven Carr.