My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been supporting UAC’s Teen Scholarship Program for the past 15 years and during that time have attended numerous graduation ceremonies in Odessa. There is nothing more rewarding in my life than helping these deserving young men and women obtain an education and succeed in their lives. What makes UAC stand out right now is how they have stepped up during this unprecedented crisis in Ukraine through providing support to the refugees in Odessa. Victory to Ukraine!

We (Haven Bridge) have been donating to UAC's Teen Scholarship Program for 15 years because we know where our money goes and the impact it is making on the lives of teen orphans. We know this because we have made several trips to Odessa and have seen first-hand, how UAC opens doors of opportunity for those most in need and transforms lives. The attached pic of students in the program was taken during one of our visits.

Haven Bridge, a non-profit that I co-founded, partners with UAC in support of their Teen Scholarship Program for orphans in Ukraine. In the summer of 2018, I attended the program’s graduation ceremony and was thrilled to see some former graduates in attendance. One of those graduates (who I did not recognize at first) came up to me and just kept staring at me, waiting for a response. I had no idea who he was, so I just stared right back at him(!) Well, it turned out to be Yakov, one of the students we supported through the program over a decade ago, who I met when he was much younger, and who I wrote letters to for over four years. He was a grown man now, with a successful career and a beautiful girlfriend. We hugged and laughed and the next day we spent hours catching up on our lives while strolling around Odessa.

As I think back on Yakov and the many teen orphans UAC has helped to overcome the obstacles and to successfully transition from the orphanage to “life on the outside” – I am reminded that nothing else that I do is more significant or more personally rewarding.

Kathy Forbes
Director
Haven Bridge