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KleinLife Launches Summer Camp,
After-School Fundraiser for
Ukrainian Refugees
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
F or a war happening halfway
across the globe, the Russian
invasion of Ukraine hit close to
home for the KleinLife staff.

Six months of organizing and
assisting in various fundraisers to
raise money for ailing refugees and
Ukrainians trying to survive in their
war-torn country did not feel like
enough. “All of us are watching the news,
and the news is horrible,” KleinLife
CEO and President Andre Krug, who
is Ukrainian, said. “You feel completely
helpless, and you want to do some-
thing, and you can’t.”
The rest of the KleinLife staff and
leadership felt similarly. And the
answer to their question of how to
make a more profound impact came
in July in the form of a summer camp.

The KleinLife summer camp, in
addition to hosting 140 campers, is
now hosting 45 more, all of whom are
children who fled Ukraine and are
making a new home in Philadelphia.

The camp will run through August.

On Aug. 4, KleinLife launched its
Grow Hope campaign to raise $750,000
to sustain the summer camp in 2023,
as well as create an after-school pro-
gram for Ukrainian refugee children.

The funds will be used for after-school
Brian Gralnick, director of local grants
and partnerships for the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia,
presents a check to Andre Krug,
president and CEO of KleinLife.

Photo by Jonathan Moore
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6 AUGUST 11, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
transportation and programming,
English as a second language classes,
emergency food distribution, access to
KleinLife’s athletic facilities and job
search assistance. The after-school
program will accommodate up to 75
children. “It’s very necessary for the children,
it’s really necessary for their parents
and it’s a good thing for us to do,” Krug
said. “And it feels good that now, finally,
we can feel that we’re kind of helping
somebody, helping the Ukraine.”
The summer camp was dreamed
up, organized and operational within
five days, underlying the passion and
demand around the project.

Victoria Faykin, KleinLife’s vice
president, came up with the idea for the
summer camp on July 6 after several
Ukrainian mothers approached her for
help. More than 90% of their hus-
bands were still in Ukraine, required
by Ukrainian martial law to fight in the
war. Most women had trouble getting
jobs, as they were not granted permis-
sion to work when they immigrated to
Victoria Faykin with Ukrainian refugee
KleinLife campers
Courtesy of Victoria Faykin
the U.S. Others were unable to apply
for work because they had to take care
of their children.

A Russian refugee who came to the
U.S. almost three years ago, Faykin
empathized with the women.

“I cried together with them,” Faykin
said. “I came to Andre with tears in
my eyes.”
Krug worked quickly with the
KleinLife board and Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia to get the camp
off the ground. KleinLife, with the help
of Jewish Federation, raised $70,000 to
operate the camp.




Originally, KleinLife had 20
Ukrainian campers aged 5-12, then
30, now 45, and KleinLife is receiving
50 calls a week from parents interested
in sending their children there. Faykin
didn’t put out any advertising; interest
was all through word of mouth.

Th e campers’ families have access
to KleinLife’s food pantry. KleinLife
is partnering with hospitals and med-
ical centers in Philadelphia to assist
refugees with dental and medical care.

Faykin enlisted the help of the older
siblings of the campers and teenage
KleinLife members; KleinLife con-
verted the main room of its staff offi ce
to accommodate the campers.

Aft er one month of camp, the impact
of the experience is clear to Faykin.

“[Th ere were] eyes full of crying.

Th ey looked like scared children,”
Faykin said. “And now, they smile.”
In addition to the typical camp fare
of swimming, sports and arts and
craft s, the campers take part in art
therapy, led by program manager and
licensed counselor Mariya Keselman-
Mekler. “We’ve been working on diff erent
ways for them to express themselves, to
come together, to utilize coping skills,
build coping skills, process things
creatively and express themselves cre-
atively,” Keselman-Mekler said.

For one project, the campers each
created a puzzle piece, which were con-
nected to puzzle pieces made by older
KleinLife members, many of whom
were Soviet refugees, to create a collage.

Th e artwork the campers create
refl ects the trauma they’ve experienced:
the loss of their pets, fathers and life as
they knew it. But Keselman-Mekler
has noted the resilience of the chil-
dren, shown in their ability to relate to
one another and bring color into their
artwork. “Th ey do have that hope that the
future is going to be better and brighter,
that the war is going to be ending, that
they’re going to be reunited with their
families,” she said. “Th ey’re so open
to trying new things and having these
experiences because their life basically
was disrupted.”
“Th at’s one of the amazing things
about working with kids is the resil-
ience that they have shown,” she added.

“I believe that that resilience is a huge
part of the Ukrainian culture.” JE
Our community
is depending on you.

The Jewish Federation’s Campaign Year
ends on August 31.

With your support, the Jewish Federation:
• Invests more than $40 million in the Jewish community through grants,
programs, real estate subsidies, emergency funding, restricted gifts,
endowments and our partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Day Schools.

• Helps more than 266,000 people locally and in Israel access
nutritious food, financial assistance, and other social services
• Inspires Jewish identity for more than 26,000 community members
…and so much more.

Make your gift today!
Visit jewishphilly.org/donate
or call 215.832.3484
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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