Students Lead a Summer Institute for Ukrainian Refugee Children

After working with Eva Specter ’24 to launch the St. Luke’s School Human Rights Club in the winter of 2022, I reflected on how I could make an impact beyond the Hilltop. During my sophomore year, St. Luke’s Director of Global Education Beth Yavenditti introduced me to the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants. I began regularly volunteering with them for the rest of that year, supporting the incredible staff that worked tirelessly to support the organization’s mission to provide a compassionate array of high-quality legal, social, and educational programming for refugees, immigrants, and survivors of human trafficking and torture.

I recognized that the organization supported many children, including several newly arrived Ukrainian refugees. With the help of my club advisor and former teacher, Upper School History Teacher Lauren Malesky, we developed the idea of a free summer camp for Ukrainian refugees hosted at St. Luke’s. Soon after, we began the process of emailing school administrators, zooming in with the CIRI Summer Institute Team, and watching the program come to life. 

Working with SLS faculty volunteers, we developed an interactive week-long educational experience for a group of 13 children ranging in age from 5 to 13. Our core teacher volunteers were Upper School Health and Wellness Coordinator Camille Demarco-Havens, Director of Community Connections Kate Parker-Burgard, and Yavenditti. We were so grateful to have three additional teachers volunteer to lead exciting activities. Middle School Art Chair Samantha Mongardi led art projects where the campers made jewelry boxes and sock puppets. Middle School designLab Chair Kimberly Gerardi led designLab, where the campers could fly drones and play minute-to-win-it challenges. Middle School Science Teacher Jeanette Thompson led activities filled with explosions, slime, and cracked eggs from the egg drop! 

In addition to our amazing teacher volunteers, we had a group of dedicated St. Luke’s student volunteers: Alexa Lisher ’25, Ally Shulman ’25, Charlie Hobson ’25, Todd Cannaliato ’25, Matty Shulman ’25, Nicole Perez ’24, McLain Boege ’24, Kelly Neuner ’24, Javier Minuesa ’25, Teddy Hoffstein ’25, Frederick Jolly ’25, Carys Gardner ’24, and Megan Case ’24. A special shout-out goes to Charlie Lukens ‘24 for being a tremendous asset during the planning and execution processes and on-site volunteering during the camp.

I would also like to thank Patrick Sullivan, Director of Dining Facilities, who agreed to provide free meals for the children throughout the week. Without FLIK’s support, our idea never would have materialized. 

The week of camp was filled with joy, laughter, and new experiences for the campers and volunteers. I am so grateful to have had such a supportive team who were equally passionate about the work we were doing. I look forward to continuing and expanding this program in the future! 

Take a look at the photo gallery from our week of fun!