Our Accomplishments
November 1989
In response to an urgent appeal from Deputy Volodymyr Yavorivsky, Dr. Zenon and Nadia Matkiwsky organize a committee to provide the first medical relief cargo to travel with the Deputy back to Ukraine. That committee eventually becomes the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund with its mission to save the lives of children in Ukraine.
February 1990
February 14: CCRF launches its first major airlift valued at $4,500,000 from JFK International Airport. The Ukrainian-American community, playing an instrumental role throughout CCRDF’s existence, gathers to bid farewell to the medical cargo they helped collect.
April 1990
The Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund is officially incorporated as a tax-exempt charity.
March 1991
CCRF launches its 5th major airlift from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.
July 1992
CCRF founder Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky testifies as an expert witness in U.S. Senate hearings on the Chornobyl aftermath chaired by Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Bob Graham (D-FL). Dr. Zenon challenges the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for their cover-up of Chornobyl’s long-term effects.
August 1992
CCRF launches its ninth of 32 airlifts from Rickenbacker Air Field in Columbus, Ohio. The world’s largest cargo plane, the AN-225 Mriya, delivers $3,000,000 of medical cargo, including Ukraine’s first flow cytometer.
September 1992
The World Health Organization confirms an 80-fold increase in thyroid cancer in children exposed to Chornobyl fallout, effectively supporting CCRF’s position at Senate hearings six weeks earlier.
October 1992
CCRF establishes a permanent office in Kyiv, Ukraine to monitor all in-country activities. The country director is Oleh Deyneko.
June 1993
CCRF hosts its second National Convention with keynote speaker Deputy Yavorivsky and U.S. Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ).
June 1994
CCRF airlifts an MRI to the Kyiv City Emergency Hospital & Trauma Center on the U.S. Military cargo plane. Over the next 6 years, the MRI provides diagnostic tests for over 10,000 patients, enabling doctors to treat cancers and traumatic injuries.
July 1994
CCRF is awarded a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. In August 1995, CCRF delivers $4.5 million dollars worth of medical aid. USAID Director Greg Huger hails CCRF for leveraging $16 worth of aid for every dollar it received in federal grants.
January 1995
In partnership with the Ukrainian Women’s League of America, CCRF establishes a complete state-of-the-art Blood Diagnostic Laboratory at Lviv Regional Specialized Pediatric Clinic, which the European Review team ranks as the finest laboratory in Eastern Europe.
February 1995
CCRF hosts President Kravchuk during a visit to the U.S. and is greeted by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman who honored CCRF with the New Jersey Governor’s Volunteer Award.
November 1995
CCRF receives $263,000 from the Monsanto Corporation to launch its Women’s & Children’s Health Initiative in Dnipropetrovsk and Vinnytsia.
December 1995
CCRF delivers medical aid worth over $10,000,000 this year. The total amount of medical assistance over 5 years of the Fund’s service amounts to over $32,000,000.
February 1996
CCRF and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster with U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and actor Jack Palance.
April 1996
April 9: Covered by ABC News and The New York Times, the anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster is commemorated at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University with over 500 dignitaries and politicians in attendance.
April 1996
April 26: CCRF organizes the official national commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Chornobyl at the Kyiv National Opera Theatre.
May 1996
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore host the 10th Anniversary of Chornobyl and honor CCRF at the White House. Young leukemia survivor Vova Malofienko and CCRF Executive Director Alexander Kuzma are guest speakers.
August 1996
President Leonid Kuchma honors CCRF Founders Dr. Zenon and Nadia Matkiwsky, the first Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor.
August 1997
The John Deere Foundation awards a grant of $350,000 to CCRF.
September 1997
CCRF hosts its third National Convention with health experts and dignitaries from the U.S., Canada, and Ukraine. Featured speakers include Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and CNN Correspondent Martin Savidge.
November 1997
CCRF wins praise from First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton during her goodwill mission to Ukraine; Mrs. Clinton witnesses the delivery of a CCRF ambulance to our partner hospital in Lviv.
December 1997
CCRF publishes the 10th edition of the Chornobyl Chronicle, a quarterly report of CCRF’s work sent to over 10,000 households in the USA. This issue is edited by CCRF Director Alexander Kuzma.
November 1998
CCRF launches its 20th medical airlift which provides emergency aid to flood victims in the Carpathian Mountain region
