From our Chairwoman, Olga...

I DID IT! I escaped from Alcatraz on August 27th & became the first Ukrainian in history who has ever swum across cold waters and strong extreme currents of San Francisco bay & did escape from Alcatraz swim :-)

I've accomplished my 1.4 mile swim in 45 minutes, which put me into top 10% of the female swimmers who have ever done the crossing.

I did it to support the projects of Depaul Ukraine, a groundbreaking charity working with street children, homeless young people and adults in Ukraine.

The swim was very hard not only because of cold water at +15C, distance- 1.4 mile and the wind, but mainly because of the extreme strong and unpredictable currents and tides of San Francisco bay. I swam half of the distance fighting the current, that was extremely difficult & challenging.

But my effort is nothing comparing with the challenge that life puts to the thousand homeless people Depaul is helping to everyday.

It is still not late to support me & donate money to Depaul to help street children and young people. Will you make a difference in somebody's life? Will you support me to let Depaul support them???

www.justgiving.com/Olga-Swims-Alcatraz

«ЗЗ»

ЗЗ це не тридцять три а ЗАПРОВАДИТИ ЗМІНИ.

Запровадити зміни – заголовок стратегічного плану Всеукраїнської благодійної організації «Деполь Україна»

Запровадити зміни – висновок довгих пошуків (особливо голови правління Ольги Цеюкової) вираження того, в якому напрямку рухатися наступних п’ять років реалізуючи місію Деполь.

Запровадити зміни у розумінні нашого суспільства того, що людина завжди залишається людиною і ніколи не може бути позбавлена цієї гідності, навіть коли залишається бездомною, навіть коли знаходиться в жалюгідному вигляді, без одягу, без дому, без друзів, без нічого окрім вулиці та прикрої долі.

Запровадити зміни у ставленні суспільства до бездомних людей, яких щоденно зустрічаємо на вулицях наших міст.

Запровадити зміни у тому, щоб люди нашої країни почали більше підтримувати своїми пожертвуваннями програми на допомогу дітям вулиці та бездомним людям.

Запровадити зміни – це є причиною того, що Ольга вирішує зробити цей заплив заради багатьох знедолених людей, яким допомагає Деполь Україна.

Запровадити зміни – через заплив першої українки з Алькатрасу до берегів Сан Франциско, щоб привернути увагу нашого суспільства до проблеми бездомності в нашій країні.

Запровадити зміни у життя майже 3 000 людей (дітей вулиці та дорослих бездомних), яким Деполь Україна допомагає на своїх проектах в Харкові та Одесі протягом року і які з понеділка по п’ятницю звертаються за допомогою (гаряча їжа, невідкладна медична допомога, юридичні, психологічні та інші консультації, надання термінового життя, соціальний супровід, праця з неповнолітніми у місцях позбавлення волі, допомога повернення до дому, душ та інші соціальні послуги в залежності від потребуючого)

Запровадити зміни – тому Ольга хоче здійснити такий героїчний вчинок, щоб зібрати кошти і передати їх Деполь для допомоги так багатьом людям.

Запровадити зміни – вже сьогодні 91 людей, які пожертвували свої кошти показали, що вони не байдужі до проблеми бездомності  і поділяють завдання та плани Деполь Україна.

Запровадити зміни може  кожний з нас, хто підтримає Ольгу морально та матеріально.

Запропонувавши сою підтримку, запропонувавши свій досвід, свій час та жертвуючи свою кошти на благодійну організацію Деполь Україна і ми можемо ЗАПРОВАДИТИ ЗМІНИ у життя дітей вулиці, бездомних людей і допомогти їм жити гідне життя в нашому суспільстві.

Запрошую всіх не байдужих запровадити зміни у життя тим, у кого нічого не залишилося крім вулиці, щоб допомогти  їм змінити своє життя та повернути втрачену надію!

Вдячний за кожний прояв порозуміння та підтримки, які нам допомагають запроваджувати зміни!

http://www.justgiving.com/Olga-Swims-Alcatraz

http://www.facebook.com/olga.tseyukova

http://www.depaulukraine.org/

Удачі, Ольга! (Good luck, Olga!)

Scott McKenzie & Our Olga

Still Writing for V. Novak, Deputy Director, Kelli McGee

On August 18, Scott McKenzie passed away.  Who was he?  What did he do? He was a musician and composer.  He wrote that catchy, tropical Beach Boys ballad, "Kokomo," but he also became famous for his hit performance of the song, "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)."  When I read the news of his death, it occurred to me how poetic it is that Olga has chosen this location for her swim, as San Francisco is a classic forum for voicing and acting on social issues.  From anti-war campaigns and environmental protests to rights for women, minorities, gays, lesbians, and the working class, this land breeds new ideas, and is a platform for redefining equality and justice.

As Ukrainians march in parades around the world this Friday, 24 August 2012, celebrating 21 years of independence from the Soviet Union, Olga will be marching to San Francisco.  Olga's swim from Alcatraz to shore next week is symbolic of many historic struggles, and her effort marks a shift in Ukraine, as well. Today, in fact, representatives from charities and social welfare agencies in Kharkov will meet at a round table to share thoughts and discuss strategies for addressing things like homelessness.  Even recent political news shows that laws are beginning to change; the government is looking at its most vulnerable and looking for solutions.

McKenzie's voice echos...

"All across the nation, such a strange vibration...People in motion...There’s a whole generation, with a new explanation..."

One For All...

Writing for Director Novak while he's on vacation:  Kelli McGee

Olga, our board chair, swimmer, and fundraiser, is taking on a challenge not so unlike those of our clients.

She put a goal before herself: swim three kilometers in open water.
We put a goal before our clients: independent life.

She started two years ago, with no ability to swim, and as an adult learning to swim, no doubt afraid.  Our clients come to us to begin a journey, many of them have received little support from their parents, or have indeed been traumatized by their childhood or youth.  They are afraid, too.

Olga step-by-step has studied, practiced, worked, and grown into a fast, confident, capable swimmer.  She swims everywhere she goes to become stronger, faster, better.  Our clients, too, they study with our social workers, psychologists, and volunteers.  They practice new behaviors that will serve them throughout their lives.  They work on turning themselves into kind, capable, confident young men and women.  Depaul wants them to become better and stronger, so they will move onto independent life.

Olga will be the first Ukrainian woman to accomplish this swim from Alcatraz to mainland San Francisco.  Our clients are trailblazers, too.  Their families are not always good role models; they must reach for goals, when it must feel they're just chasing rainbows.

They all can succeed.  They all need support.

Olga Swims Alcatraz:  Just Give.

Mission (im)Possible...for both Olga and Sasha

Я пливу, щоб у нього було майбутнє!  I swim for him to have a future! 

Sasha was born in July 1991. When he was 3 years old, his parents were deprived of their rights to him, and he was sent to an orphanage, where he grew up. He later discovered that his mother died, and he didn't know anything about his father. Sasha was often running away from the orphanage and lived in the street. He first came to the Depaulka (evening minibus project that feeds homeless youth) project in 2008. He was coming to Depaulka from time to time for food and visited the Day Center to take shower, wash his clothes, and just be around people.

At some point he disappeared and we had no news from him... then we found Sasha in spring 2012, in the hospital suffering with third degree burns. He tried to light a fire in the street to warm up, he slipped and fell into the burning fire.  But the worst thing was that he didn't ask for help immediately, he stayed in the manhole where he lived until the pain became unbearable...Sasha had seven skin grafts. Depaul supported him in the hospital, bought medication, brought food and fruit, and most importantly, just visited him. The healing has been a long process, as Sasha's body was very weak and heavily intoxicated.

Sasha is recovering now, slowly, but he's getting better every day. He stays at the Depaul Day Center, as he has nowhere else to go and is at high risk for infection. After Sasha recovers, he plans to go back to his studies, and Depaul will continue to give him the support he needs on the road to a positive independent life.  He is already on this path.  He is an active volunteer on another Depaul project that provides soup to adult street people.  His innate leadership and communication skills have been a welcomed, heart-warming surprise and example for all Depaul staff and volunteers.  We value the gifts and lessons he brings to us, as well.

Don't stand aside! Support my swim so young people like Sasha have a chance to live and have a future.

A Note from Board Chair, Olga

If by September 1st, 2012 I manage to raise at least one kopeck more then my target, I promise to swim across Loch Ness in spite of the Monster!

Если до 1-го сентября 2012г. Мне удастся собрать хотя бы на копейку больше, чем цель- я обещаю переплыть озеро ЛохНесс несмотря на чудовище!

Donate here to make it happen!

Taking on challenges

Writing for Director Novak who is on vacation:  Manager KJ McGee

Clients come to Depaul because they have met insurmountable challenges in life.  We all meet great challenges, but some of us are better equipped to deal with them than others.  And still others are fortunate to be able to give, support, work with, and help those less fortunate.  The Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Depaul Ukraine has put forth for herself a challenge.  While she hopes to raise awareness of the organization's needs, she is doing much more than that.  For me, she's demonstrating that we can start from nothing, set goals, learn new skills, work hard, grow in character, and be successful.  Watching her grow in her training and commitment has itself been an inspiration for me to work harder.  We hope others--you and our clients--will see the difficulty and opportunity that lay in these challenges. Here is what she has to say about her upcoming challenge:

Hi everyone,
     My name is Olga Tseyukova and I am Ukrainian. Some of you may know that couple of years ago I was blessed to meet Depaul Ukraine--a groundbreaking charity working to support homeless children and young people. When I learned that there are more then 300,000 homeless people in Ukraine and learnt what Depaul is dong to tackle the problem of homelessness in Ukraine, I told myself that I can't stay away--I want to make a change in those people's lives as I believe that everybody has right to a place to call home and everybody deserves to be loved. So, I became a Trustee of Depaul Ukraine.
     But that wasn't enough. I want to do more--and here I am taking a personal challenge to Escape from Alcatraz later this month. Just for the record- I learnt to swim two years ago--I've never swum in open water before, and the Alcatraz swim is a huge challenge.  It's 2.5 km in cold, choppy water, with heavy tides and currents, and with some sharks, as the rumor say. But I will work hard to achieve it and I need your support for that. Every dollar you give to Depaul will go to support homeless people in Ukraine. Together we will make a difference.
     Please come with me on this journey towards Alcatraz and help hundreds of people together.
                                                                                              Olga