Ukraine/Poland Archives • Love Does

Celebrating Graduates + Launching Futures in Poland!

Love Does — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 17:30:54 +0000

At the end of June, our Love Does team and some friends went to Poland to celebrate the graduation of our students at the Love Does School for Ukrainian refugees. These students have faced unexpected and unimaginable challenges over the past few years. Many have escaped Russian occupation and left everything behind including family members fighting on the front lines.

We hosted a dream big lunch for the graduating seniors. Dreaming is more than just wishing. It’s an act of courage. It’s saying, “I believe my life is more than my current circumstances.” At the heart of turning those dreams into reality is access to higher education through our Love Does Launch Program, which provides a total award of $9,000—covering the full three years typically required to complete a university degree.

Thanks to your support, we had the joy of surprising several secondary school graduates with Launch Program scholarships – one even announced right in the middle of the graduation ceremony! Cue lots of tears, cheers and renewed hope. Our newest scholarship recipients are setting out to become a fashion stylist, doctor, translator, legal specialist, NGO founder, and dentist!

One of our 2024 launch students returned to encouraged this new class of graduates. Check out this short video to hear from him directly about how the Love Does School and the Launch Program have impacted him:

Thanks for being part of this community that shows up with love, opportunity, and confetti. This is what love in action looks like.

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-The Love Does Team

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A Graduation Celebration to Remember!

Love Does — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 15:44:02 +0000

In April 2022, we visited the Ukrainian border and a refugee center in Warsaw housing 5,000 people, mostly women and children. It quickly became clear that we needed to provide support for the kids so we opened a primary and high school. Since opening, both the primary and high school received accreditation from the Polish and Ukrainian governments! In June, our team from San Diego joined our team in Poland to celebrate the first graduation with a joy festival! It was filled with balloons, singing, dancing, and ball pit fun, celebrating the impressive achievements of our courageous, accomplished, enthusiastic students.

Our school’s reputation has grown rapidly, leading to a waitlist of over 200 students eager to join our community. To accommodate these deserving students, an additional $3,000 per month is needed to expand our classrooms. We deeply appreciate your support and would be incredibly grateful for any additional contributions to help us provide education to those on the waitlist. Thank you for making a difference in these students’ lives. Check out the latest video updates here.

We are also thrilled to announce the launch of the second season of the Love Does podcast on Monday, September 16! Our first episodes will spotlight the incredible efforts in Poland and Ukraine, featuring the inspiring leadership of our team there. To get caught up on last season, listen here!

Thank you for being part of this journey with us.
-The Love Does Team

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Photography in Poland

Love Does — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:59:51 +0000

We are so grateful Rafał Milach, one of Poland’s most renowned photographers, reached out to work with our refugee school in Poland encouraging students to capture moments of their daily lives through a disposable camera. Each student captured moments of love, closeness and their Ukrainian heritage.

Ruslana, one of our 16-year-old students, who is aspiring to become an anime graphic artist, was a stand out. They entered her work to the Fort Center of Photography in Warsaw, organized by the U.S. Embassy, and she was selected to be a part of the exhibit! She communicated that the project helped her adjust to her new life as a refugee, rediscover her strength and spark a newfound belief in her abilities.

Our team is traveling to Poland next week and will get to congratulate Ruslana in person. They will also be participating in our first graduation for our high school and primary students since moving from the refugee center into a permanent location. We are celebrating our Love Does school, now accredited, will be around for years to come to support and encourage these students to grow into their full potential.

You can keep updated with their travels on social media and to learn more about what’s happening in Poland and Ukraine here.

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-The Love Does Team

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Learning to Ski in Poland

Love Does — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 17:35:03 +0000

It’s tough to be a teenager. It’s tough to be a refugee from a country in war. It’s really tough to be both. Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw have faced this double struggle, feeling isolated due to overcrowded public schools.

So, we expanded our Ukrainian refugee school in Warsaw to include high school this past fall. During the winter break, our incredible leadership team from Life Polska, our school partners, went the extra mile. They organized various activities for these teens, including a memorable ski day, to reinforce that they are not alone but recognized as young individuals with immense potential.

Our team asked the highschoolers what they love about the Love Does School. We are so proud of them!

Check out the video here:

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-The Love Does Team

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Honoring Women at the Refugee Center in Poland

Love Does — Thu, 18 May 2023 22:33:13 +0000

Our team recently visited our Love Does school within the Ukrainian Refugee Center in Warsaw, Poland, where our talented and loving staff teaches computer science, math, PE, Ukrainian and Polish, and science. They even create quarterly “Joy Festivals” inside the center for the kids. These Joy Festivals are filled with balloons, bouncy houses, music, ice cream, candy, arts and crafts, dancing, and lots of laughter. But more importantly, they allow kids to be kids, getting their minds off of the trauma they’ve endured even for a couple hours.

During our time there, we also wanted to acknowledge the women and moms at the center, some newly widowed, but nearly all of them separated from their loved ones fighting in the war back home. They shoulder the daunting challenge of creating a safe space for their children while living with so much uncertainty about the future. So with the help of Never Alone Widows, we held a luncheon full of gifts, treats, and an intentional time of honoring these incredible women.

There were 3 refugee women in particular who have gone above and beyond since arriving at the center, so we celebrated their bravery and intentionality. One stepped up to teach, another found ways to care for children in addition to her own, and one made it a priority to decorate the refugee center with art in an effort to make it more “homey” for everyone. Never Alone Widows shared their own courageous stories of impossible heartbreak but also the redeeming moments in their lives. Several women communicated that they have felt forgotten in these past months. We were grateful to be able to show up in this special way to tell them we cared.

Thanks for being part of the Love Does community. We couldn’t do it without you!

-The Love Does Team

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An Update on the Love Does Ukrainian Refugee School

Love Does — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 18:16:06 +0000

There are currently 1 million refugees in Warsaw, Poland. The education system is completely overwhelmed and there is no more space for refugees in the local public schools.

We recently opened a school at the expo center in Warsaw to help, and were told by local officials they know of no other school like ours in the city for refugees. In fact, there is now a prerequisite for families staying at the center that their kids be enrolled in the Love Does school.

We have the favor and appreciation of the local government including the Vice President of Warsaw, who meets regularly with our Poland Country Director at the local Ukrainian refugee task force meetings.

While we have enrolled hundreds of kids at the school, we expect that number to continue to grow as more refugees enter Poland through the winter.

We’re so grateful for all the teachers, staff and volunteers who are loving these students and giving them an opportunity not only for education, but for some fun!

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You’re making a big difference in the lives of these kids and their families who have faced immeasurable hurdles this year.

-The Love Does Team

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Christmas Toy Drive

Love Does — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 17:03:53 +0000

We’re celebrating the season of giving at Love Does with a toy drive for our Ukrainian friends!

If you’re local to San Diego, you can drop off new or unused toys to the following address:
Where: Liberty Station: 2508 Historic Decatur Rd San Diego, CA 92106
(look for the balloons on the corner of Roosevelt St and Historic Decatur Rd)
When: Monday, December 5th or Wednesday, December 7th
What time: 11am – 1pm

You can also donate to our toy drive online by choosing “Christmas Toy Drive” in the drop down menu.

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We’re grateful for your generosity!

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Disneyland with our Afghan and Ukrainian friends!

Love Does — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 05:00:31 +0000

With everything our friends from Afghanistan and Ukraine have been through the last year, we wanted to invite them to a day devoted to fun. What better way to have fun than a day at Disneyland?

In fact, one of the Afghan families told us that when they found out they had to leave their country and go to America, the kids dreamt of the day they could go to “the happiest place on earth”.

And last week, that dream was made a reality.

Thank you for supporting our neighbors and friends.

-The Love Does Team

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The Incredible Story of A Family From Ukraine

Love Does — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 23:05:15 +0000

Each week we provide food and supplies to Ukrainian parolees. We recently met a family in particular that taught us a lot about hope in the midst of loss.

Back home, the husband managed a business and the wife worked as a journalist. When the war broke out they fled to the mountains for four months with their two children and later learned their business was bombed.

Eventually, they made their way to San Diego, California to start their new life. We got connected with them shortly after they arrived. Because of your generosity, we were able to furnish their entire apartment. One specific donor even gifted them a car.

They told us, “We have no words. We are so lucky, we should buy a lottery ticket.”

If you’d like to support more families like theirs, donate to the Love Does Parade which funds our domestic programs.

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An Update On Our Friends from Ukraine

Love Does — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 21:11:57 +0000

Last weekend we held a picnic for Ukrainians who have recently made their way to San Diego, CA where we’re headquartered, as a result of the ongoing conflict in their home country.

We shared food, played games, gave welcome gifts, and beautiful connections were made.

After the event, many Ukrainian families expressed that the gathering gave them a sense of life and hope again. That is the power of community and being love in action – and of course balloons were involved!

Go to lovedoes.org/ukraine to learn about more ways you can help.

-The Love Does Team

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