UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (11/09/03)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Black Panthers collect shoes for needy in Ukraine

by Diana Zmyj Mandicz

WHIPPANY, N.J. - The members of the Plast group Chorni Pantery (Black Panthers), have collected and sorted more than 200 pairs of shoes for the needy in Ukraine. The boys posted flyers announcing their shoe collection, and the response from the Ukrainian community in the northern New Jersey area was overwhelming.

The Plast group, which holds meetings at St. John's Ukrainian Catholic Church hall in Whippany, N.J., sorted the shoes by gender and size and donated them to the Dollar for Ukraine Fund, a branch of the World Council of Ukrainian Social Services. The Dollar for Ukraine Fund receives hundreds of letters from desperate families in Ukraine and responds by sending packages directly to these destitute families, predominantly in rural areas.

Recently, the Fund created the "Sii-Radist" mission to provide hope and aid to those needy in Ukraine through the cooperation of youth organizations in the United States and Ukraine. The mission's "Podai Ruku" (Lend a Hand) project is specifically geared towards the youth members of the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization.

Roma Chudio, coordinator of "Sii-Radist," commented "We wish to thank the members of the Plast group Chorni Pantery for their large donation of shoes and commend them for their initiative in this good deed that will help so many."

Alexander Mandicz, a member of the Plast group, said "It is gratifying for us to know that our efforts helped so many needy families in Ukraine. Hopefully, in the future, more Plast groups will collect and send donations to Ukraine through the Dollar for Ukraine Fund organization."

The members of the "Chorni Pantery" are Lev Halibey, Andrew Kuzyszyn, Alexander Mandicz, Roman Palylyk, Daniel Paslawsky, Matthew Semanyshyn, and Andrew Yaworsky; their counselor's Paul Jarymowycz.

To contact the Dollar for Ukraine Fund, call Lubomyra Krupa, committee chair, at 973-539-4937, or send your donation to Self Reliance (NJ) Federal Credit Union, 851 Allwood Road, P.O. Box 4239, Clifton, NJ 07012-0998.

High school senior prepares for legal career via mock trial team

WEST MILFORD, N.J. - Seventeen-year-old Renata Shypailo, a senior at West Milford High School, wants to become a lawyer. What better way to prepare, then, than to serve a mock trial lawyer - something this young woman has been doing since freshman year.

Renata was profiled on August 3 in the Bergen Record in the regular feature titled "North Jersey Scholars." The article was written by Cathy Krzeczkowski and was headlined "A future legal eagle tests her wings."

She told the newspaper that her job as an attorney for her school's mock trial team is to "trap" the truth out of witnesses. "I want to go into law, so this is great practice for me, " she said, adding "I tired sitting in sometimes as a witness when other people were out sick, but I wasn't very good at it. I'm a much better lawyer. I'm better at trapping people when it comes to questioning. it's harder for me to get myself out of a bind."

Renata is also a fencer with a winning record two years in a row and a member of the National Honor Society. During her junior year she was class secretary, secretary of the German Honor Society, a member of the Tell-a-Peer group and a participant in a unique program called Destination Imagination.

She described Destination Imagination to the Bergen Record as follows: "It's creative problem solving. A group of seven team members work together to solve a problem, which has mechanical theatrical, technical, artistic and other elements to it. We divvy up and work together and use each other's talents to figure out the problem the best ways we can."

Renata's group has been the state champion for four consecutive years, and competed in the World Championships in Knoxville, at the University of Tennessee.

The Bergen Record also reported on Renata's involvement in Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization, of which she has been a member since age 7, and her attendance at the School of Ukrainian Studies.

In addition, Renata is involved in charitable causes, such as Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to children who suffer hair loss as a result of long-term medical conditions. This past April Renata herself donated 13 inches of her long blonde hair to Locks of Love. She's also participated in tutoring children and helping out in blood drives.

As Ms. Krzeczkowski wrote: While she thinks majoring in political science would be 'fascinating' and that working for the government as a lawyer would be fun, when it comes right down to it, Renata loves feeling that she's helping people."

The future legal eagle said: "..it's almost like my duty, because so many people have helped me. I feel it's just right to pass it on."

Barabolya boils up a "baniak" of fun at St. Nicholas School

PASSAIC, N.J. - Saturday, October 4, was Family Fun Day at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic School in Passaic, N.J. And fun was certainly had by all.

Everyone enjoyed good food, games and a great concert by Ron Cahute, Pan Barabolya himself. Pan Barabolya entertained the children, young and old, with his many songs. He had the whole crowd doing the "Azbuka Drill," and dancing the "Hokey Pokey," and he even pulled some kids out of the audience to help him perform in "Pan Onufrey's Farm" and the "Zumba Za."

The idea of Family Fun Day came about last year, when Christina Temnycky, along with her fourth grade classmates wrote a letter to Mr. Cahute. She thought it would be a great fund-raiser to have a Pan Barabolya Concert at our school. And sure enough, Mr. Calute was happy to come down and help us out.

The entire school community helped out in preparing for this event. The students decorated the auditorium with banners welcoming everyone to Family Fun Day. Every student made little Pan Barabolya posters that hung throughout the room.

The event was a real success. We raised money for our school, and we had fun doing it!

The story above was written by students of Grade 5.

Mishanyna

To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the words capitalized in the following text in the grid on the right.

During NOVEMBER our Ukrainian community traditionally recalls the sacrifices of the FREEDOM fighters of the November 1 ACT, or "LYSTOPADOVYI Zryv," as it is called in Ukrainian. What exactly was the November 1 Act? UKELODEON consulted the highly regarded "Ukraine: A History" by Dr. Orest Subtelny.

During the UPHEAVAL of World War I, the Austro-Hungarian EMPIRE, which then ruled lands in WESTERN Ukraine, was disintegrating. At the same time, Ukrainians who were part of the empire were making preparations for establishing their own nation-state. Already in October 1918, when it became clear that AUSTRIA-HUNGARY was about to FALL, Ukrainian leaders formed the Ukrainian National COUNCIL to act as a Ukrainian representation. In addition, they announced that they wanted to unite all western Ukrainian LANDS into one entity.

A group of young Ukrainian OFFICERS, lead by Capt. Dmytro VITOVSKY of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, or Ukrainski SICHOVI STRILTSI, seized the initiative toward establishing Ukrainian SELF-RULE. On the night of October 31, they gathered all Ukrainian soldiers serving in Austrian military units in the Lviv area and took control of LVIV. The next morning the city's residents woke up to see Ukrainian FLAGS flying from City Hall. All major offices also were under Ukrainian CONTROL and there were leaflets everywhere informing the people about what had taken place. The people were told they were now CITIZENS of a Ukrainian state.

On November 9 all Ukrainian parties agreed to work together to create a government, and four days later the Western Ukrainian National REPUBLIC was proclaimed.

Our name: UKELODEON

UKELODEON: it rhymes with nickelodeon. Yes, that's a kids' network (spelled with a capital "N"), but the original word referred to an early movie theater that charged a nickel for admission.

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the root of the word, "odeon," is from the Greek "oideion," a small building used for public performances of music and poetry.

Our UKELODEON is envisioned as a space where our Ukrainian youth can express themselves and learn about the activities of their peers.

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