Cholnoky Sisters

#standwithukraine

#standwithukraine

WEEK #2

Going into the final stretch, new connections were made, key follow ups accomplished and ideas for continuing refugee support were studied.

The war in Ukraine does not have an immediate end date, and it is important to be thinking long term for rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and maintaining the dignity of its people. Working with both volunteers and the refugees themselves constantly reminded us of the definition of gratitude:

  • At the start of the week, there was a meeting at Tesco HQ to iron out payment details for the bulk order purchases we made last week for Migration Aid. We are so accustomed to clicking a button and receiving a package that afternoon. The process was more challenging, and it was eye-opening to be back in the corporate world as an advocate for a non-profit. With the IT and finance departments, a solution was found and the order processed.

  • Zsolt Szekeres and Viktor Ivicsics from the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation (HHRF) brought us to Székesfehérvár, a town 1.5 hours southeast of Budapest to visit with the senior management of Continest at the factory site. Continest produces foldable containers, designed for easy and quick setup and transport. We met with CEO Vidor Kis-Marton and his team for a tour, product demonstration, and briefing on business development plans for the company.

    This innovative product can be used for short term housing, storage, shipping - the possibilities are many. For our purposes, we discussed producing an emergency medical unit for pediatric care along the Hungarian/Ukrainian border and potentially in Ukraine proper. With funds raised for HHRF, a mobile unit would be brought to those places where the need is greatest, equipped with basic examination supplies and technology.

  • Hungarian Helsinki Commitee is the only organization providing legal assistance to refugees coming into Hungary. Like the Legal Aid Society in the US, HHC is a not-for-profit organization helping those unable to protect their own interests. They visit the border on a ongoing basis, handing out information that gives individuals a road map for their next steps and an understanding of their rights. What struck a chord was their commitment to reinforce each refugees’ dignity. With funds raised, we are committing to support HHC. For further information and opportunities to help, please click here.

  • We continued to work with Migration Aid, developing longer term ideas for the MA hostel and how best to direct funding. Their commitment to supporting the refugees is laudable, and it has been a privilege to partner with them. As we now have established ways to fund purchases, we are committed to our ongoing help.

  • Through various channels, new connections were initiated to bring both higher education and corporate support to not-for-profits. As some of these discussions are in the early stages, we are not able to provide details, but suffice it so say, our commitment to continuing refugee relief work is 100%, and we will monitor progress on these introductions.

There is much to do, and every little bit helps. Your support and awareness are critical in helping the lives of the Ukrainian refugees. If you have friends who are asking how to help, please share our blog messages, and as noted before, donations can also be made for for local supply purchases and direct donations to refugees:

Venmo @Elisabeth-Cholnoky

PayPal lisa@cholnoky.com



Once again, we would like to say:

🇭🇺Nagyon szépen köszönöm🇭🇺

💪🇺🇦❣️

Marianne & Lisa

...please let's not forget to #standwithukraine...

Cholnoky Sisters

#standwithukraine

#standwithukraine


Week #1

Our first week in Budapest covered a combination of informational meetings, key introductions, and crucial coordination with refugee relief organizations. 

We found that by hitting the ground running and being open to opportunities, our mission here became crystal clear - and no amount of kindness is too small.  Decency redux.

To date, we have raised over $24,000 in cash donations and have allocated a portion of the funds to the following two organizations:

  • Migration Aid  (more info in English on FaceBook) - We visited the Budapest Olympic Center (BOK) - a stadium turned transit hall, where Ukrainian refugees are able to connect with a variety of aid organizations and plan their next steps.  They are offered food and drink, medical care, a children's play corner and information about housing and further travel options.  There are several NGOs with representatives helping refugees who are arriving to Budapest.  We quickly identified Migration Aid as one of the best on the ground aid organizations and drove to the hostel that houses up to 260 refugees who are in transit and stay on average 3 nights before moving to their next destination.  They have over 1,000 volunteers serving as translators,  cleaning staff, drivers, travel coordinators, childcare and medical staff.  The refugee community is made up of mostly women and children.  This is currently one of the only in transit housing options available to Ukrainian refugees.  

    We met with the program director for volunteers and the head of the children's program to discuss how best we could help.  For the next six days, we worked 6 hour shifts, cleaning rooms, changing bedding, mopping floors, and preparing the rooms for the next round of guests.  We also spent time with the children, playing games, drawing, teaching English, while giving their mothers some well deserved time off.   In addition, we prepared, wrapped and delivered 300 sandwiches in under three hours, providing breakfast and lunch for the refugees.  We determined that with the funds raised in cash donations, we could support the facility and improve both the hostel operations and the daily lives of the refugees.  We were able to make bulk purchases at Tesco, which included cleaning items, hygiene products, and basic food supplies .  In addition, we are buying four washer/dryer sets for the hostel.  Currently, Migration Aid sends out laundry in bulk at a steep cost, and is at the mercy of the laundry service for return items.  These machines will give the hostel flexibility and help reduce operating costs.  

    In Gyõr, a town 75 miles West of Budapest, there is a long term facility that has a 60 person capacity which is self sustainable, based in a hostel that Migration Aid is renting at $15,000/month.  As many Hungarians travel to Austria for employment opportunities, there are local factory and construction jobs that can be filled by the Ukrainians living at the hostel.  There is a possibility of creating a more substantial, longer term housing scenario for refugees opting to remain in Hungary, and we are committed to facilitating this project. For donations, please click here (nb: This PayPal is processed in Hungarian Forints. HUF 35,000 = approximately US$100)

  • Hungarian Academy of the Sciences - Through the foundation our father established in 1987 supporting post doctorate research work from his alma mater, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, we have fostered strong ties with the talented educators that were granted scholarships over the years.  Among them is HAS Secretary General Kollar who shared information about the Academy's work with their counterparts at the Ukrainian Academy.  They have established a fund to assist fellow scientists and scholars and their families looking to escape Ukraine.  We are committing funds to support this effort.  For further information and opportunities to help, please click here. 

  • We also connected with many organizations operating throughout the city, among them Budapest Bike Mafia, Food Bank for Refugees Budapest,  MKKP, and Hungarian Helsinki Committee.


  • Hungarian Human Rights Foundation (in collaboration with the Hungarian American Coalition) -  To date, we have raised over $17,000 for the HHRF which will be directed to local relief efforts here in Hungary.  In addition to supporting a local school, working with helping orphaned children and efforts at various border villages, they are exploring longer term challenges that need to be met, both here in Hungary for those wishing to stay and for the refugees looking to return home when it is safe.  It so happens that the director Zsolt Szekeres is very close to our parents' friends in New Canaan, and has spent many visits with them when in Connecticut. 


    We have only just begun to help the Ukrainian refugees.  We have contacts to follow up with in Week #2, so please stay tuned.

    The overwhelming and generous response we have received - and continue to on a daily basis - from donors like you has strengthened our conviction to soldier on.

More to follow, but before we sign off, we would like to say:

🇭🇺Nagyon szépen köszönöm🇭🇺

💪🇺🇦❣️

Marianne & Lisa

...please let's not forget to #standwithukraine...










 

 

 

 






















#DECENCYPLEDGE2020

IT’S ELECTION YEAR: Sign THE #DECENCYPLEDGE2020

As we contend with new challenges in our world, we look for reassurances and role models who will guide us safely into the coming days, weeks and months.

With the upcoming elections, both local and national, prospective leaders must commit to the highest standards and demonstrate the character our children deserve.

This year, let’s reach out to those running for public office and encourage each candidate to sign the #decencypledge2020 as part of their campaign.

This is a true non-partisan effort so that students and community groups on any side of the aisle can get involved to help promote what DECENCY is all about, and make this value go viral…the good kind of viral!

First National Decency Day Proclaimed for May 14

Lisa Cholnoky, Founder, DECENCY

www.decency.today

lisa@decency.today

T: (917) 561-2573

                             

NATIONAL DECENCY DAY PROCLAIMED

May 14th, 2019

 

May 9th, 2019 – DECENCY, a non-partisan grassroots movement dedicated to inspiring decency in everyday life, is proud to announce that May 14th has been proclaimed National Decency Day - to celebrate the basic standard of civility that every American deserves. 

DECENCY was created and launched in early 2017 by Lisa Cholnoky, New York City based parent and graphic designer to reassert and encourage DECENCY as a baseline in everyday conversations and actions.  Dismayed by the divisive public discourse around her, as well as in the news and on social media, Cholnoky designed the DECENCY button – a simple yet powerful reminder -- and wore it every day, whether on the street or on the subway.  The impact was immediate; the message contagious.  

DECENCY starts with simple ABC’s:

Active listening

Better understanding

Compassion  

In July 2017, DECENCY went national when 535 DECENCY buttons were mailed to each member of U.S. Congress. By September 2017, DECENCY had been recognized on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, with a speech encouraging both sides to reach across the aisle with civility. Since then, Shelter Island Union Free School District (New York) and Suncoast Elementary School (Florida) have incorporated DECENCY into their curricula and engaged their local communities.  “The DECENCY movement represents a moment in the midst of the polarized atmosphere in which we find ourselves for all people to reclaim the tradition, practices and skills for civil discussion of our differences of opinion. Centering the focus on DECENCY marks a valuable opportunity for schools to reaffirm this standard of civil discussion for students of all ages and to talk through the practicalities of how to treat everyone with respect and master the art of listening,” said Lisa Cholnoky, founder of DECENCY.

Schools and community groups in over 25 States have enlisted their hometown governments and school boards to issue proclamations for their own local DAY OF DECENCY on May 14th - - part of a nationwide effort to put DECENCY back on the map and to engage students, educators, family and community members to promote civil discourse. 

By raising awareness, the movement aims to encourage more participants to embrace DECENCY and integrate it into both curriculum plans and service projects.   “Our children need role models,” said Cholnoky. “If we can all be civil with one another, we are setting the right example.”

On May 14th, members of U.S. Congress will lend their support of the DECENCY initiative with a bipartisan endorsement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.   Congressman Lee Zeldin, R-New York, was the first member of Congress in September 2017 to issue a ringing endorsement of DECENCY on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“As Americans, we cherish our freedom to dissent, but we must always bear in mind that these debates should be productive and substantive,” said Rep. Zeldin. “National Decency Day is a call to action to engage in civil discussion in the midst of bitter divisiveness, and I thank Ms. Cholnoky for championing this issue and empowering so many Americans to do the same. Thanks to her hard work, what first started on Shelter Island in New York’s First Congressional District is a movement spreading all across our great nation.”

“During my time on the campaign trail last year I was inspired by the number of doors I knocked and how many residents asked for one thing -- decency,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pennsylvania, said. “and I carried that message with me through the campaign and into Congress. Americans deserve government officials who lead with decency, honesty, and heart.”

The Congressional Civility and Respect Caucus, led by Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH) and Congressman Steve Stivers (R-OH), emphasized the importance of civility, saying, “Whether you are in the halls of Congress or the halls of your school, acting with civility and decency is incredibly important; without it, we cannot hope to find common ground and solve the problems facing our communities.  Today, and every day, let’s remember that we can disagree without being disagreeable.”

###

The DECENCY movement began in 2017 when Lisa Cholnoky observed her own communities divided because of the inability to have civil discussions when faced with opposing points of view. She designed the DECENCY button as a simple reminder that we need to act and react with respect.  Cholnoky works with schools and community groups to develop curriculum and service project plans to uphold this basic standard of civility.  For more information, please visit https://www.decency.today

#nationaldecencyday #decencytoday

National Decency Day was officially designated by National Day Calendar®:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/new-day-proclamation-national-decency-day-may-14