Contact:
| Michael Snyder 317-829-7408 msnyder@expidant.com |
Victor Kubik 317-216-0802 |
LifeNets
installs new board, officers;
prepares
to expand international, national services
INDIANAPOLIS—LifeNets elected its new board of
directors and officers on October 2, setting the stage for expanded growth and
services, according to Victor Kubik, founder and newly-elected president of
LifeNets (www.lifenets.org). “Victor
has developed a firm foundation to significantly expand the relief services he
began a number of years ago,” said Michael Snyder, a LifeNets board member who
was elected the organization’s first chairman.
“LifeNets has now developed into a proven model that unites people in
helping others, whether here in the United States or abroad.”
Two years earlier, Kubik (who is fluent in the Russian and Ukrainian
languages) joined forces with a retired English surgeon for an investigative
trip to the Chernobyl region, where reports were surfacing about
radiation-induced illnesses among children.
The two individuals found the situation to be far worse than anticipated,
and the surgeon organized a children’s trust in the United Kingdom to begin
providing much-needed aid to children suffering from the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster. According to Snyder,
Kubik returned to the United States following the horrifying trip, determined to
do what he could. He began contacting and organizing various church groups and
concerned individuals to collect needed supplies to ship to a clinic in the
Ukraine that was set up to help the afflicted children.
“What he did was nothing short of amazing,” said Snyder.
“Working with various groups, he collected, organized and shipped
several tons of medical and other supplies—first to Chernobyl and then to
other areas of the world.” Today,
LifeNets is active in several countries and regions, including the United
States. Board directors named for the new LifeNets board are (in
alphabetical order:
-
Lydia Bauer
-
Suzan Johns - Secretary
-
Victor Kubik – President
-
Belinda McCloud
-
John Merritt
-
Thomas Peine
-
Michael Snyder - Chairman
-
Guy Swenson - Treasurer
-
Lilya Wagner
“It is very humbling and gratifying to see this organization grow, as
there is so much need in the world,” Kubik said.
“I am especially grateful that some of the principal people who helped
me in the informal network have now agreed to donate additional time to serving
on the LifeNets board.
LifeNets activities either are currently taking place or have been
conducted in places as diverse as Ukraine, Malawi, Zambia, Estonia, the
Philippines, Guatemala as well as here in Indiana. Fulfiling
the overall mission statement of helping needy people in practical ways and
helping them become self-sufficient has resulted in a microloan program, summer
camp program and computer schools in Ukraine, the construction of a clinic and
birthing center in Malawi, the restocking of cattle totally lost due to disease
in Zambia, and sending a container of income producing sewing machines and
stoves to Guatemala. Medicine obtained at a fraction of its cost is also sent to
all these areas utilizing government programs which pay for shipping.
Plans are afoot to work in rural areas with youth in China and with an
orphanage in Moldova to help place children in local homes instead of having
them live out their childhood in an institution.
Additional
information about LifeNets, including opportunities to join and provide support
for LifeNets activities, can be found at the organization’s Web site at
www.lifenets.org.
