Help us welcome Ukrainian refugees to Pittsburgh

Hello! We are fundraising to seek support in our efforts to help a refugee family from Ukraine resettle in the U.S. We are working with welcome.us, a government program that allows Americans to privately sponsor refugees impacted by the war in Ukraine. Through the program, we have identified the Ladan family—Tatyana, Vadym, Igor, Ivan, and little Valeria—who currently live outside of Odessa, Ukraine. Soon, they will travel to Pittsburgh and begin their new life in the U.S. We are asking for your help to give them a warm welcome and provide them with all they will need as they begin to rebuild their lives. We will help the Ladans to work with several humanitarian agencies that provide assistance, but as you can imagine, the costs of moving your life to the other side of the world will be great. Specifically, we hope to support them with the following: • A rental home close to a Pittsburgh school with a strong ESL program • Clothing, food, and household essentials • Travel from Ukraine to Pittsburgh Why would we do this? Seeing and reading about all the suffering in Ukraine, we wanted to be able to help in a direct and meaningful way. Lindsay discovered the welcome.us program when looking for ways to get involved. During WWII, Lindsay's great-grandparents sponsored European Jews fleeing the Holocaust after the U.S. government had turned them away. With Josh’s Ukrainian heritage and his ongoing desire to pay his privilege forward, this was a natural fit. So, with the help of Lindsay's parents (Mark and Sue) and our good friends Eric and Devin, we formed a team to offer support to people seeking refuge in the U.S. Providing the Ladan family with this kind of help aligns with our values and reaffirms what we believe is the central promise of our country: an open door and an opportunity for a better life. Now we are asking all of you to join our team and help us provide support to the Ladan family as they establish their new lives in Pittsburgh. All funds raised will go directly to supporting the Ladans (travel, setting up their house, learning English, getting the boys ready for school in the fall, etc.). We hope to be able to sponsor more Ukrainians after the Ladans arrive, and if there are any funds remaining we will use them on our next sponsorship—and we will keep you apprised of every effort you’ve helped us to launch. If you would like more information on the program—or to learn how you could sponsor similar refugees—visit https://welcome.us or reach out to one of us directly! We'll post updates on the Ladans' journey here, so be sure to follow along! We can't wait to welcome our new neighbors! Thank you for taking the time to consider a donation. Lindsay, Josh, Clara, Mark, Sue, Eric, Devin, Grace, Tatyana, Vadym, Igor, Ivan, and Valeria (A.K.A. Team Ladan!)