BRAMA, Apr 10, 2004, 1:00 pm ET
Press Release
Teaching-Learning Network releases documentary on Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund
Film to be broadcast on select PBS Stations
as part of award-winning "Voices of Vision" series
(West Palm Beach) On April 5th, the Teaching-Learning Network released a half-hour documentary film on the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF) providing a close-up view of the Fund's partner hospitals and the impact of its mission on the lives of Ukrainian youngsters. The documentary is scheduled to be broadcast on many public television stations as part of the award-winning "Voices of Vision" series that features the work of outstanding American charities and humanitarian organizations. PBS stations are currently running the series in several major markets, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Miami, New Orleans, and Minneapolis.
"We feel that the CCRF program is one of the finest episodes in the series," said TLN's senior producer Peggy Zapple. "It tells a very compelling story with strong images, and it packs a lot of information into a well-paced narrative." Directed by veteran filmmaker Ike McFadden, the program includes extensive footage of CCRF's partner hospitals in Lviv, Lutsk and Rivne, highlighting some of the state-of-the-art equipment CCRF has delivered to local laboratories and neonatal intensive care units. It also includes interviews with young cancer survivors and Ukrainian physicians who explain the impact of CCRF's aid on their treatment efforts. The film crew also documents the long-term health impact of Chornobyl, especially birth defects that are often overlooked or ignored by other documentary films or news reports.
"We are very grateful to the Teaching-Learning Network for its in-depth focus on the Chornobyl aftermath", said Alex Kuzma, Executive Director of CCRF. "Ike McFadden's crew captured the essence of CCRF's mission, and we're confident that this documentary will help our donors and supporters to gain a better understanding of the direct results of their generosity."
The TLN documentary was made possible by a major grant from Cisco Systems and AOL-Time Warner and the "Network for Good". Additional donors for the CCRF episode included: Robert Metcalf, Tasos and Moki Kokoris, the Pryshlak-DeLalio Family, Irene Chaikovsky, Ukrainian Self-Reliance New England Federal Credit Union, Self-Reliance New York Federal Credit Union, the Estate of Prof. Yurij Yaremkevych, the Ukrainian Heritage Foundation, Brig. General Yaropolk Hladkyj, Prof. and Mrs. Yaroslav Leshko, Helen Petrauskas, Alicia Szendiuch, Nestor and Nina Shust, Walter Hrynchuk, Ihor and Roma Hajda, Kenneth Morrison, the parishioners of St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Hartford, CT, the New York Federal Orthodox Credit Union, and the Hartford Chapter of CCRF.
To date, CCRF has completed 30 airlifts and 14 sea shipments, delivering more than $50 million dollars worth of medical and humanitarian aid to hospitals and orphanages in 16 provinces of Ukraine.
CCRF plans to make the Voices of Vision documentary available to community groups, churches and educators for classroom presentations. Anyone interested in arranging a local viewing of the film should contact the CCRF office at 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, New Jersey 07078, or by calling (973) 376-5140 or (860) 652-0458.
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