Help Margo to continue to go college

Hi. My name is Larry Hufty, and I am a retired Military Officer and currently a small business owner. My wife, Linda, works for a non-profit organization serving families with Special Needs Children. This is our story:

About 6 years ago, my wife and I got involved with sponsoring Ukrainian Orphans to visit the United States. They would visit for 3 weeks over Christmas or 2 months over the summer. During one of those visits, we met the Ukrainian Chaperone (Nataliia) and her then 13 year-old daughter (Margo). They stayed with us over a summer orphanage visit. We have continued to keep in touch with them ever since. When the war broke out in Ukraine, we offered to fly them to the United States to stay with us. Initially, they wanted to stay in Kyiv. It is hard to leave your home and your country, but, on April 11, 2022, I picked up Nataliia, Margo, 2 suitcases and 2 cat carriers (and 2 cats!!) at Miami International Airport and brought them back to Clermont, FL (a small town west of Orlando). They had left everything else behind. Here’s a local newspaper article about them:

I had to leave my home eight years ago

We were able to get them settled on a Temporary Protective Status (TPS) program. And they are now exploring Green Card options. Being on TPS allowed the now 18 year-old Margo to apply to the local college. She did and was accepted last September to Lake Sumter State College. So far, she is a straight-A student, with the lofty goal of becoming a Bio-Medical Engineer to help others. Here are Margo’s thoughts:

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“My name is Margarita, I am 17 years old, and during this time, I fled the war twice, losing everything I was used to.

In 2014, when the war first came to Ukraine, my mother and I lived in the Donbass and were forced to drop everything and flee with one backpack.

For the last eight years, we lived in the Kyiv region, in the Buchansky district, not far from Kyiv, but in 2022, the war came there too.

Eight years ago, I had to leave my home, and, eight years later, my country.

In February 2022, I was in my senior year and had a clear plan for my future: a medical university, a doctorate degree, and a long life dedicated to saving lives. The war changed everything. Miraculously, I ended up in the USA in the generous family of Larry and Linda with my mother and two cats (who are also members of the family) and continued to live here and even try to search for the meaning of life. I don't want to see blood anymore, but I still want to help people. So, I don't want to be a surgeon anymore.

Since September, I have been studying at Lake Sumter College in Clermont, and in the future, I plan to move to UCF (University of Central Florida), get a biomedical engineering degree, and save lives through science.

I finished my first semesters of college with A’s and even got on the President's List, which I myself am incredibly pleased with. I managed to get a small scholarship and find friends who paid the remaining amount of tuition.

I work in a local coffee shop, not losing hope to raise the necessary finances for my studies. Mom has also already found a job, but our total income is unlikely to be enough to cover the entire amount. That’s why financial aid would contribute greatly to my ability to afford an education.

I will pray for everyone to will help me take a step towards achieving my goal.”

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The whole experience for us and Nataliia and Margo has been rewarding if not expensive. As I said, all they had was what they could fit into two suitcases. And very little money. Margo has at least another 4-1/2 years of college to complete. She is on a very small scholarship so we are raising funds to put into a School Trust to be used strictly for educational purposes. The annual cost of tuition, books and fees are about $12,000 for her Undergraduate Degree. And of course, then comes Graduate School. We are looking at raising $25,000 in hopes that as Margo continues to excel, Scholarships will become available. If there are any funds remaining after Margo gets her Advanced Degree in Bio-Medical Engineering, they will be donated to the general college scholarship fund where she is attending.

Your assistance in helping us provide for Margo’s education would be greatly appreciated.