Basil Tarasko to Undertake 43rd trip to Ukraine as Little League Volunteer
Basil P. Tarasko, District Administrator of the Little Leagues in Ukraine (1995-present), announced his trip schedule for his 43rd trip to Ukraine in his capacity as volunteer.
Mr. Tarasko will arrive in Kyiv on Friday Oct 20, 2006. On Oct 21, he will leave for Ostroh, visit an orphanage for deaf students, with the intent of starting a new Little League program there. Later, he will visit Rivne and Verba to meet Little League officials.
In his trip through Lutsk, Mr. Tarasko will meet with Peace Corps volunteers starting a girls Little League (LL) softball program, and also meet with the Rector of the Volyn State University and with local sports officials.
On Oct 26, he will leave for Donetsk to conduct a baseball and softball clinic on the 28-29th for teachers from orphanages. Ukraine LL will pay for the transportation, housing, and meals for those teachers from orphanages.
Mr. Tarasko plans to return to Kyiv Oct 30, then travel to Kaniv to welcome the 13th orphanage into the LL program and meet the children and local supporters. If all goes well, this orphanage will play in a tournament in early March during the Shevchenko Days festivities!
Other items on Mr. Tarasko's list are to meet with members of Priyateliy Ditey Fund to plan the 2007 first ever Little League Championships in the world for children from internats (orphanages), Meet with Peace Corps officials to discuss expansion of LL baseball and softball programs throughout Ukraine for 2007, and to visit Kirovograd to discuss plans for 2007 LL tournaments.
For more info, suggestions and offers of help, please contact
In the USA:
Basil P. Tarasko: 718-415-7821 District Administrator of the Little Leagues in Ukraine
In Ukraine:
Vitaliy Lizogubenko: 8-097-544-9141 Assistant District Administrator
Results of trip #42 to Ukraine May 25 - June 23, 2006
1. Distributed new baseball and softball equipment to an orphanage for deaf children in Ostroh, Rivne Oblast. This equipment will also be used by children in regular schools in that small town. New LL program for 2007.
2. Visited the city of Rivne and watched a LL baseball game. More and more children are playing bb in Rivne.
3. Organized the 7th annual Ukr LL baseball Championships in Kyiv. Seven teams participated, most ever. On a sad note, two LLs were not allowed to participate due to document problems. Positive note, Glad to have a LL team from Donetsk Orphanage participate in exhibition games. Winner of tournament was the LL from Kirovograd which defeated Donetsk LL 7 -3 in the finals. Kirovograd LL will participate at the European LL Championship in August in Kutno, Poland.
Thanks to The Self Reliance Federal Credit Union of New York, The Cherry Tavern and Veselka for helping to sponsor the Championships.
4. Spent a week at Peace Corps Headquarters in Kyiv sorting thru hundreds of boxes of donated baseball and softball equipment. Thanks to Bohdan, my friend from Florida who devoted hours of help. And to Vitaliy, Anatoliy, and Gregoriyy for rolling up their sleeves to help.
We put together packages of equipment: 1. for nine new orphanages joining the LL family for 2007, 2. four sets of equipment for Peace Corps volunteer use 3. two sets for the Help Us Help The Children Fund camp needs 4. seven sets of equipment for the current members of the LL family who were fully compliant with LL regulations
5. I had the pleasure of delivering seven sets of equipment to orphanages in Eastern Ukraine, Starting in Sumy and ending in an orphanage in Poltava. Thanks to Sashko, a very able driver from HUHTC Fund, for his help and excellent driving thru all kinds of conditions.
7. Ukraine LL baseball and softball program still needs financial help for future projects so that more and more children and teenagers can take part in after school sports programs as an alternative to negative influences.
Care to help? Please contact me. I welcome your thoughts and comments.
Dozens of communities in the United States help nine orphanages in Ukraine start Little League baseball and softball programs with donations of equipment.
by Basil P. Tarasko District Administrator of the Little Leagues in Ukraine (1995) bt4ukraine@aol.com
Since 2001, I have collected and stored donated baseball and softball equipment in my garage in Bayside, New York to help provide equipment for new Little League (LL) programs in Ukraine. It is virtually impossible to buy good baseball equipment in Ukraine. Besides, who could afford the high prices?
This equipment came from kind LL communities in California, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, Virginia, Pennsylvania, new Jersey, Connecticut, New York City area, Long Island, Upstate New York and Little League Baseball INC. Thank you all for helping me help the children of Ukraine.
How was this equipment get to those who needed it? Shipping by sea is less expensive than air but still expensive. I raise money by selling Ukraine baseball t-shirts and Ukraine baseball pins. This is a very slow process, but I am so patient.
Care to help,we really do need it? Check out www. ukrainebaseball.org Thanks.
I was looking for someone to come forward and help. In the summer of 2004 someone did. The Honorable John Herbst, then the UNited States Ambassador to Ukraine, encouraged me to contact the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF) in New Jersey and ask that they add my equipment to their next shipment of Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine. Late that fall I rented a truck and deliver over 200 boxes of equipment to Sterling Virginia to await shipment.
Finally after a wait of over 15 months, the much needed equipment was delivered to Peace Corps Headquarters in Kyiv in April of 2006. Patience is a virtue.
Many thanks to the United States State Department, CCRF, the US Embassy in Kyiv and Peace Corps Ukraine and the dozens of communities in the US that made this all possible. Now more and more children in Ukraine can take part in the largest youth program in the world.
I arrived in Kyiv on May 26, trip number 42, as a volunteer, for a stay of 27 days. My wife was upset at me, but so much needed to be done.
My responsibilities included: organizing the seventh annual Ukraine Little League Baseball Championships, ages 11 and 12 , in Kyiv, June 1-4; delivering new equipment to an orphange for deaf children in Ostroh, Rivne Oblast on May 27 - 28; breaking down the huge shipment into smaller starter kits of equipment, June 5 - 11 at Peace Corps HQ; visit seven orphanges and deliver the much awaited equipment, June 12 - 15.