Dear Friends and Neighbors! Dear donors! Dear People of Good Will and Kind Heart!

Our donations of winter clothes have arrived in Nizhyn Children’s Home for Disabled and Orphans. It included full zip fleece lined hoodies, jackets, flannel shirts, and boots for about 57 teenagers. THANK YOU ALL WHO MADE THIS SPECIAL DELIVERY POSSIBLE!!!

Pictures are provided by the Director of the Nizhyn Children’s Home Ms. Olena Harmash. The entire story of this project and more pictures are here.

Christmas tree in the capital city of Kyiv

Life is the collection of moments. The key is to collect as many pleasant ones as possible! (the bike image to the left says in Ukrainian)

NEWS: We are working on procuring medical supply for rehabilitation departments of several hospitals in Ukraine, including Novohuivynsk Village Hospital, Zhytomyr region, Zhytomyr Regional Hospital, Lviv Rehabilitation Clinic of Western Region Military Medical Center, and others. Thousands of soldies, civilians and children have been injured by shelling, explosives, folling buildings debris. Many of the injured suffered severe traumatic brain and/or spine injuries, polytraumas, and are amputees of 1-4 parts of the body. The rehabilitation clinics lack heart monitorings sensors, security belts for learning to walk, vestibular training goggles, post amputation compression socks, mobile bed tables, etc. If you are interested and able to donate, please see here. THANK YOU!

Shorter ramps are used for the van entrance

CONGRATULATIONS! Another good deed accomplished! Upon the request of the Director of Nizhyn Children’s Care Home for Disabled and Orphans, Ms. Olena Harmash, we were able to procure two sets of movable ramps for their facility. Apparantly, they had issues moving children in wheel chairs during air raids from the care home building to the bombshelter and to their care home van. The staff measured the stairs length and the van entrance height. We needed to find a movable ramp 3 meters (yards) long for the stairs and 2 meters long for the bus. After a considerable search we were able to find an enterpreneur in the city of Dnipro (Ukraine) who was able to order and manufacture the required ramps in Ukraine. “All are happy and greatful!” Ms. Harmash reported and shared some pictures with us.

The ramps were delivered on October 17, 2024. The staff, care takers, teachers and students are all very greatful to their friends in State College, PA. THANK YOU! ДЯКУЄМО! [DIA-koo-ye-mo]

New arrival: Two pairs of mobile ramps
Long ramp rails tested to fit the lower staircase
All pictures are by Olena Harmash

We have received new appreciation videos and pictures from Nizhyn Territorial Center daycare facility for disable children VIRA. THANK YOU everyone who made this assistance possible!

THANK YOU for visiting our station at the LION BASH on Thursday, August 29, 2024! We had many visitors and shared a lot of joy (despite the heavy rain at the beginning of the event), and great conversations with everyone who stopped by. We even collected some donations for our humanitarian aid fund to help people in need in Ukraine. Please visit our website again for new updates and announncements!

Thank you all who came to show their support for the Ukrainian people and to wish Ukraine a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” There were speeches, songs, and prayers. And we had some fun kicking around a “Putin” doll.

Prof. Yulia Ladygina adresses the rally participants.
Americans and Ukrainians enjoying their friendship
Ukrainians proudly displaying their traditional embroided clothes
A prayer for peace in Ukraine and in our hearts
Ruslana Kaminska, a Ukrainian refugee from Zaporizhia singing Ukrainian songs
Rally participants enjoying Ukrainian music and camaraderie
“Putin” too little to notice under peaceful feet
“Putin” to be crushed soon
Fallen “Putin” not worth the little dog’s time

All rally photoes: Svitlana Jones

ZAPORIZHIA CHILDREN

have received their art supply packages!

Our sincere gratitude goes to everyone who made this project possible, including:

The Skipping Stones magazine for their donation of multiple children’s books, as well as earlier copies of the Skipping Stones magazines. THANK YOU!

Our friends and neighbors: Peg Hambrick, Margaret Sebastianelli, Nina White, Catherine Wanner, Lee Washesky, Michael Naydan, Will Jones, and others.

CONGRATULATIONS ON ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT!

We have successfully procured and donated office equipment to Nizhyn Territorial Center for Social Services (social services provider). The Center for Social Services (CSS) provides social services to citizens in difficult life circumstances who need assistance at the place of residence and in day care centers. The Territorial CSS has 4 structural divisions, in particular:

1) Social Assistance at Home;

2) Targeted in-kind and cash assistance;

3) Adult Day Care;

4) Day Care for children with disabilities and adults with disabilities (“Vira” (Hope)).

At present, the center provides services to about 2,000 people, including the elderly, children with disabilities, individuals with disabilities, and individuals in difficult life situations who require social assistance and support. In connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation and the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, these are the categories of citizens who require more attention and special care.

Due to the limited funding of the institution and the lack of ewsources, the Center was unable to meet some of the needs for outfitting and modernizing their premises to create appropriate conditions for the elderly, children with disabilities and disabled individuals, and to provide quality social services.

Thanks to our fund-raising efforts, we were able to raise funds to help Nizhyn CSS. Our first installment of office equipment was delevired to the Center last week. (Please, see the pictures below.) The entire aid package was procured from the Ukrainian office supply company from the city of Rivne. We are now working on the second aid installment.

We have an official THANK YOU letter from Nizhyn CSS, which is now being translated and will be posted shortly. THANK YOU ALL WHO WERE ABLE TO HELP!!!

The staff in the video thanks Sister’s Sister of State College for the invaluable assistance. Our aid package included two laptop computers with Windows OS, two printers/scanners, a projector, and a 55″ flat screen TV.

Receiving our donation at the shipping center
On the way to Nizhyn Territorial Center of Social Services
Our technology package has arrived at the Center
“If you could only see how happy those children were! And we were happy for them!” Director Inessa Shapovalova said.
Now everything is going to be so much fun!
Awesome TV! Thank you, State College!

In the video on the left, the staff is testing the printer. Just check what comes out from the printer:

ДЯКУЮ ( DIA-koo-you!),

aka THANK YOU in English!

The teacher is making full use of the new equipment
Our projector is used in the classroom.


For the first time in history SISTER’S SISTER participated in the Central PA Festival of Arts. Our tent was located in front of the Borough building, from Friday through Sunday, July 12-14, 2024. We had some special thank you gifts for donations starting from $5. We had a few authentic T-shirts made in Nizhyn, an adorable soft rabbit toy made in the Nizhyn toy factory, a stainless steel Nizhyn water bottle, a beautiful Nizhyn umbrella, totes, notebooks, books, cards, etc. (please see the pictures). We also had awesome Ukrainian t-shirts, and the unique posters created by children from Zaporizhzhia. And coasters, bracelets, stickers created by the members of the Ukrainian community in State College and their friends.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING US!


The Sunflower Gratitude wall is located at 1402 South Atherton Street in State College, PA. It was painted by Ukrainian visitors, local residents of Ukrainian origin and their friends led by Dr. Ludmila Kuzmych. It is dedicated to the 32nd Independence Day of Ukraine.

Please, send us your pictures with the sunflowers wall to show your support for Ukraine.


…this pact will further contribute to the cause of world peace and to the development of friendly relations between the peoples of the United States and Ukraine and our two cities… (see our Memorandum of Understanding here).

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR SISTER’S SISTER FUND!