|
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
|
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
|
Advocates for Ukrainian Orphans
|
|
Press Release
|
|
United Orphaned Children's Fund of Pennsylvania
|
|
614 Treaty Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 USA
|
|
www.uocfp.org
|
|
Providing help in Ukraine since 2000
|
|
UOCFP
|
|
Press Release:
|
|
A UOCFP Press Release October, 2005
The film: "A Great Tragedy"
Filmed in Ukraine
We are extremely proud and very happy to announce that our brand new movie, "A Great Tragedy" has been completed!
This emotional and beautiful movie was filmed in Ukraine in June of this year (2005).
The United Orphaned Children's Fund of Pennsylvania (UOCFP) is a grassroots, regional and volunteer only non-profit
organization based just outside of Philadelphia. It was established to help disadvantaged orphaned children and youth in the country of Ukraine. "We are advocates of these orphans; say's Steve Vetterlein, the Executive Director, "and we will do anything possible to improve the quality of life for them and work towards ways to help provide them with the necessary tools for a future".
The UOCFP was incorporated in July of this year, but has been functioning as a small charity since 2002, when
Mr.Vetterlein and Ukrainian Olexandra Hnypiouk founded it. It is not affiliated with any religious, political or any other non- profit.
"We are in the final stage of becoming a 501(c)(3) registered charity with the IRS, and we had to do all the work
ourselves, as we couldn't afford an attorney or an accountant. We are not rich people living off of big trust funds with nothing else to do; we all work various jobs, and we do this when we can. But pretty much everything we do is done by ourselves; even this movie." Incidentally, Seabreeze Productions is Steve. "One of my many wishes is to get more people involved, and one of the reasons for the film."
Vetterlein's dream to help these orphans actually began in 1999, while watching a TV show that was about the group
"Help Us Help The Children"(HUHTC) in Toronto, Canada. "I was so compelled to do something, but it did not dawn on me what to do exactly, until one very memorable dinner on a very stormy night nearly 8 months later. I was having dinner with a new founded friend (Olexandra), and we both got into such a deep and passionate conversation about this topic. "
"As I had ridden in twenty twoMS-150 Bicycle rides for the National MS Society to raise funds for people afflicted with MS,
and even worked on the planning committees, why not do a bike ride to raise funds and world awareness for these kids?"
To make a long story short, in effort to raise funds for HUHTC and to raise world awareness to this cause, in the
summer of 2000 Olexandra and Steve did the ride, starting in Paris, they rode across France, Germany, Poland and then into Western Ukraine, then spent two weeks with the orphans at the summer camp. You can read about this trip in their book, called "Mountains of Grace" (Xlibris Publishing). Steve then went back in 2002 and spent another two weeks at the HUHTC summer camp high up in the Carpathian Mountains of Western Ukraine.
"This year (2005) I returned once again, and had the pleasure to visit a different summer camp for about 100 kids called
Forest Bell and also the Koropets Orphanage, which houses 229 children from the ages of 4 up to 18.This was obviously a well run institution, and the amazing 60 something woman who runs it was truly doing a wonderful job. But due to lack of Government funds, the place is all patched up and is in a sad state of falling apart. It needs windows replaced, the main pipe coming in from the town for the heating system needs to be replaced, and the bathrooms are sickening. When we walked into one of the buildings the kids live in, the smell of human waste penetrated the air. There was obviously no ventilation at all. One of the buildings had such a huge hole in the ceiling from major water damage; it looked like the whole ceiling was about to collapse at any moment. Plus the beds are so old, with the mattresses all worn out, and there was no place for the kids to put anything, with 4 to 6 of them cramped into one small room".
"Our new film was shot during this trip, and was edited over the summer months. You will get to see many of these
remarkable orphans, plus learn a little about them. And they will entertain you, as they had put on such an incredible talent show just for us. If you could only meet these absolutely wonderful kids, you would also be compelled to want to help them just as much as we do".
The DVD is 30-minutes long, ($20.00 plus $5.00 for shipping) filmed in high quality and vivid color accompanied by a
great soundtrack. As it won't be mass-produced, the cost is a little high, but well worth it.
"We are actively trying to make a difference in Ukraine, and if you have the opportunity to see our web site, you can view
all of our many projects. Everyone's support is greatly needed."
In 2006, the UOCFP plans to do much more, if they can raise the funds to do so. "There is so much that needs to be
done, but unfortunately it is always extremely hard to raise money. We can only hope that when you see these children, you will be inspired to want to get involved, in any way, shape or form". |