Guten tag from Germany! 🇩🇪 I’m currently writing to you in the city of Cologne – a city known for liberalism, Kölsch, and the massive gothic Cologne Cathedral. I’m also here to do a fourth Panels & Me project, where I’m partnering with local nonprofits and a Ukrainian school to help around 40 Ukrainian refugee youth tell their own stories through comics. Each student keeps their creations and receives a comic book of their choice in the end.
Panels & Me in Germany
It’s been nearly a year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While coverage of the ongoing war inundates our media feeds and TV screens, it is important to remember the human consequences and listen to those directly impacted. Consequently, I chose Germany because a friend (who wishes to be anonymous) shared her experiences of volunteering for Ukrainian refugee youth with me and said the following words:
The families are receiving humanitarian assistance, but I think they also need the “human” part. Perhaps Panels & Me can give them that.
– Friend who volunteers with Ukrainian youth
So, I applied for a summer grant from my university to do volunteer work, received the grant, and planned to work with a small group of about ten kids. However, the project ended up appealing to two local nonprofits, a Ukrainian school, and 40 migrant youth in total! I’ll need additional funds, so I created a fundraising campaign to ensure we have enough resources for everyone, and most importantly – have enough to gift a comic book to each of the kids. Comic books, in my experience, are a gateway to a lifelong love of reading.
Danke to all the Donors
We’ve already wrapped up 1/3 of the project this week with the first partner nonprofit, RASOM e.V. Thanks to our first round of donations, we were able to have 23 students, 23 original story creations, and 23 comic books from a local Cologne bookstore to give to each of them. All the comic books were attached with a personal handwritten note with their names and the Ukrainian words, Ты герой моей истории (English Translation: “You are the Hero of My Story”).
It was also written with this wooden German pen from Artbene and signed by “Ms. Dawn + Friends.”
Friends = all the donors who have contributed to the campaign. Since most donors were from the United States, I mentioned to the kids, “This is a gift from my American friends and me.” That being said, I wanted to give my sincere thanks to everyone who donated so far. I’m proud to have you on the journey to #DiscoverUnspokenStories with me!
Still calling for donations!
As mentioned, we are only 1/3 done with the project, so it’s not too late to contribute to the campaign and help give a comic book to each youth! Even $5 will go a long way. Your contribution, no matter how big or small, matters. To donate, please click the link here or use the widget on the righthand side of the website.
Looking forward to sharing more about Germany and the project the next few posts. In the meantime, Schönen Tag!
