Church dance-a-thon raises funds for displaced children in Ukraine
BUTLER TWP — Many of the children who attend the Warm Hands art therapy program in Zamlynna, Ukraine, are orphaned, their families displaced since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
At the border with Poland, and away from the bombings, the art therapy camp in northwestern Ukraine allows children to connect with peers, receive psychological support and express their trauma in a safe space.
Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church Christian Fellowship in Lyndora set out to raise $5,000 for the camp on Saturday in collaboration with the Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute.
To raise money for camp sessions, a dance-a-thon was organized by chairperson Adriane Hassler, her son Caden and daughter Marlena and began Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in the church’s Ukrainian Hall. Sponsor forms were available throughout the event, which ran until 10 p.m.
Karen K. Sheptak, who helped organize the fundraiser and was busy tallying its proceeds on Sunday, said the total amount raised exceeds $4100 and “will be a wonderful gift for the camp.”
Some of the artwork made by the children — including prints, wooden crafts and paintings in the style of Orthodox icons — also were available for sale.
Every penny will go toward funding the art therapy program directed by regional artist Tetyana Myalkovksa, said Stephen Haluszczak, founder of the Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute and author of “Ukrainians in Western Pennsylvania.”
He said the camp costs roughly $27 per day per child, and 50 children at a time are enrolled in the 10-day program.
Based in Carnegie, Haluszczak’s organization works directly with on-the-ground aid agencies such as the International Orthodox Christian Charities and local partners in Ukraine. Since the onset of the war, the organization has raised money for previous Warm Hands camp sessions.
Haluszczak said he regularly communicates with Myalkovksa, the camp’s director, as well as the children, via video calls.
Recently, the camp welcomed about 20 children who had been evacuated from the front, he said.
Many of the children exhibit behavioral problems and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, Haluszczak said; art therapy is a way for them to “get the ugliness out.”
“(The) children range in age from 5 to 17, and they’re in their formative years, and what they see is destruction that people our age — adults — cannot comprehend,” Haluszczak said.
Older boys, those nearing 18, may already be thinking about fighting in the war, said Sheptak.
During the 10-day camp sessions, children are taught various crafts, pottery and culinary arts by master artists and chefs.
Attendees especially love learning to make pierogies, Haluszczak said.
They also are guided through social skills and attend group therapy and one-on-one consultations with psychologists.
Haluszczak called the camp an “early intervention” for children whose trauma, left unaddressed, could lead to further isolation down the road.
As a second-generation Ukrainian with friends in the region, watching the war unfold over news articles and social media has been “jarring,” Haluszczak said.
“I think there’s a lot of nights crying yourself to sleep and waking up at night, wondering what’s going on,” he said.
Haluszczak and Sheptak, who is also second-generation, both combat misinformation about the war in whatever ways they can, including urging friends to check their sources and be vigilant about the media they consume.
Haluszczak shared how one friend inadvertently had started following Russian-state propaganda and sharing stories published by Sputnik, a news agency owned by the Kremlin. Echoing the language from the Russian government, Sputnik continues to refer to the war in Ukraine as a “special military operation.”
“How do you get people’s attention when people’s attention is limited?” Haluszczak said. “This is front and center for us because this is our heritage.”
For those wishing to support the fundraiser, checks may be sent to the attention of Amil Lesney, Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 21 Evergreen Road, Lyndora, PA 16045, or call Karen Sheptak at 724-290-3809.
