This has been a busy month for Dnipro Kids. Christmas is celebrated on January 7 in Ukraine, so our Christmas events update is included below.
Thankfully the soft toys, donated by Disney, made it to Dnipro in time for Christmas. A big thank you to all at the Ukrainian Club in Edinburgh that helped us get them safely to Ukraine.
We have also spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks trying to put together a plan for an Easter trip to the Carpathian mountains for the children. I’d like to say a huge thank you to our Ukrainian sponsor, Kyivstar, both for its assistance in putting together an itinerary and for offering to assist in the funding of the trip.
I hope you all got the email about the turnstile collection at Easter Road Stadium on February 17. We still desperately need volunteers to shake a bucket for an hour before the game, so get in touch with Jackie Stark at jackie@dniprokids.com if you can help out.
Also planned for the February 17 is a fundraising event at the Ukrainian Club in Edinburgh. See below for details.
Christmas Event – Pantomime Trip
We always like to organise a theatre trip for the kids in the run up to our main Christmas event, and this year was no different. However, this year we decided to do something slightly different and opted for a Christmas puppet show in one of the smaller theatres. On January the 2nd, when many of us were possibly trying to recover from hangovers, the family orphanages were turning up at the Dnipro Region Youth Theatre in the centre of the city.
The storyline for the puppet show was about a group of animal friends that were out playing in the snow in the forest.
Unfortunately, Bear ate some icicles that made him ill, and his best friend Hedgehog had to lead them on an adventure to find a magic flower that could make him well again.
The kids were so excited during the show, and they all kept shouting out advice to Hedgehog, and warning him when there was danger!
Of course, the show had a happy ending, and also a happy ending for the kids as they gathered around the Christmas tree at the end to receive some Christmas gifts from Dnipro Kids.
Christmas Event – Christmas Dinner
For our Christmas we invited all of our orphanages to the newly opened Stargorod Restaurant (which roughly translates to Old City) situated in the centre of Dnipro. The manager at Stargorod was happy to host our event, and was very helpful in helping us to organise an entertainment package for the children (as well as a generous discount for our charity).
The children started arriving at 11.45am, and were immediately impressed with this beautiful newly decorated restaurant, as well as all the Christmas and New Year decorations.
The staff had prepared two long tables for everyone to sit at, and with everyone seated they brought out the first course of tasty salads.
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With the first course devoured, it was onto chicken kebabs and fries, which might not be overly ‘festive’ but the children enjoyed it.
After the main meal the entertainment team had everyone up out of their seats for some games.
As well as providing fun for the kids it also allowed the staff to clear the tables and set them up for the next surprise.
The next treat for the kids were some home baked cookies, but the twist from the Stargorod staff was that the kids had to make them themselves!
After the cookie making was complete, the tables were cleared again for the next task…snowflake decoration.
And snowflake decoration can be hard work .. so an energy top-up with some warm cookies to help you complete the task.
And with the snowflake decoration completed, it was time for the final course, tasty Napoleon cake.
To finish off our Christmas event Santa was on hand to give every child a Christmas gift, some sweets and one of the Disney toys.
Our Dnipro-based worker, Natalie, tells us that all the kids had a great time, at such an amazing venue, and will remember this Christmas party for a long time to come.
Fundraising Event at Ukrainian Club
Dnipro Kids supporter Michael Kerr is running the London Marathon on behalf of the charity and, as part of his fundraising efforts, he is holding a fundraising night at the Ukrainian Club on Saturday the February 17.
There will be food and entertainment laid on, as well as the opportunity to sample a Ukrainian beer or two, with more details of this to follow.
Tickets are priced at just £10, and can be booked through any of the contacts detailed below.
Please Support Our Work
If you don’t make a monthly donation but would still like to contribute towards our fundraising efforts, you can view our ‘donations’ page for details of how to donate online or via text..
Many thanks,
Steven Carr.