Dear Special Olympics Pennsylvania Family:
Everyone is well aware of the horrific situation unfolding in Ukraine. Pennsylvania has the 2nd largest Ukrainian American community in the United States. I’m sure many of you have wondered how, or even if, you can help. There is now a way you can support Special Olympics athletes in need!
I have been working with the Managing Director for Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia exploring ways we can assist. SOPA is going to form a partnership with the Krasnobrod Center in southern Poland that has been helping refugees with intellectual disabilities fleeing Ukraine. This center is just across the border from the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Before the pandemic and the war, SO Ukraine had 13,885 athletes. Special Olympics PA has committed to providing $13,885 ($1 for every athlete) to support SO Poland and this center. We are asking the entire SOPA family to join us in “matching” this support by donating whatever you can here: https://bit.ly/3uQc6QC
By working together, we hope to generate up to $27,770 – enough funding to support this center for the next year.
The SOPA family has always been generous and has always stepped up to help other SO Programs in need. You did it when a tornado hit Joplin, Missouri. You did it when an earthquake hit Haiti. And, you did it when Hurricane Sandy devastated SO New York. Now, I’m asking you to do it again to help meet the urgent, acute, and growing needs created by this refugee crisis.
In coming weeks, we will explore additional ways to engage and connect our SOPA athletes and volunteers with the athletes and families at the Krasnobrod Center. For now, financial assistance is the most meaningful way we can help.
Thank you for your generosity,
Matthew B. Aaron
President & CEO, Special Olympics Pennsylvania
Special Olympics Pennsylvania 