April 2025 Recap

Hello from Seattle Envelopes!

April was filled with meaningful moments — from uplifting events to everyday acts of care and support. In this recap, we’re bringing you a brief look back at what we’ve achieved together, along with a few key reminders and exciting updates for the month ahead.

Thanks to your generosity in April 2025, we were able to:

• Cover the cost of music lessons for a child from Ukraine
• Bought a vacuum cleaner broom replacement to make sure floors are clean after all our free ESL classes for kids and adults
• Refill supplies like paper cups for the water station
• Restock printing paper for student materials
• Bought a wheelchair for one of the older adults from Ukraine
• Paid for software to run our accounting on

Every one of these actions was possible because of your donations. Thank you to all our supporters and volunteers — your help continues to make a real difference!

We have some exciting events coming up soon! Follow us on our Facebook page to be the first to know about them.

Nelli’s Birthday Is Coming Up!

On May 22, we’re celebrating Nelli’s Birthday — the incredible founder of Seattle Envelopes, whose vision and dedication have helped build a caring, supportive community for families starting over in a new country.

If Nelli’s work has touched you or someone you know, consider honoring her with a birthday donation — every gift helps us continue growing, launching new programs, and supporting those who need it most.

Families Are Already Visiting the Zoo!

Two refugee families from Odesa and Kyiv have already enjoyed a day at Woodland Park Zoo — and now it’s your turn! Thanks to our partnership, Seattle Envelopes has 150 free zoo tickets available for refugee families. It’s a great way to relax, learn, and spend time in nature.

Huge thanks to Masha Makarenkova for making this possible!

If you’re a refugee — or know someone who would love this opportunity — please email masha@seattle-envelopes.org to learn how to get tickets.

Free Symphony Tickets!

Haven’t used your free Seattle Symphony tickets yet? There’s still time! Thanks to Yelena Mushkatina’s amazing work, our volunteers and community members can enjoy beautiful music — free of charge. We’ve already received kind feedback from attendees, like this message from Galina:

“Yesterday, thanks to you, we went to another concert at Benaroya Hall — we really enjoyed it. Thank you so much!”

To request tickets or sign up for concert updates, just email Masha at masha@seattle-envelopes.org

Feel free to bring a friend or loved one — music is better together!

ESL for Seniors: Learning with Laughter

Our free ESL classes for seniors continue to be a big hit — even the perfect tenses aren’t scaring anyone away!

A heartfelt thank-you to our incredible volunteer teachers — Irena Bakun, Anna Murstein, Marina Bas, and Pam Worner — for making every lesson engaging, supportive, and full of heart. Your dedication means the world! If you or someone you know would like to join the classes, submit a request on our website.

A Dream Come True!

Oleg, Elena, and their 6-year-old son Danya came to Seattle from Ukraine. Seattle Envelopes supported them with housing, school enrollment, and daily needs. Their dream was to buy a car so Oleg could return to his work as a handyman — and last weekend, it came true!

Thanks to a generous donation from a local family and help from our volunteer Andrii, they found a reliable vehicle.

Not-So-Boring Classics: A Literary Tea Party

On April 30, Seattle Envelopes hosted a warm and cheerful gathering — a literary tea party with a touch of humor! Led by our wonderful lecturer Aleksandr Shamarin, we spent two delightful hours exploring funny and unexpected stories from the lives of famous Russian writers — from Kharms and Mayakovsky to Pushkin, Turgenev, Chukovsky, and Tolstoy.

Over tea and baranki, we peeked behind the curtain of classic literature, laughed a lot, and shared a cozy, heartfelt time. Thank you to everyone who joined us — it was truly special!

Thank you for your continuous support!

We are grateful to each of you for your support, involvement, and compassion. Thanks to you, families find help, children receive education, and our community grows stronger.

If you have the opportunity, please consider supporting our initiatives – every contribution helps us continue our work and provide assistance to those in need.

Thank you for staying with us! Your support changes lives.

• Benevity: If you work at Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, or Nvidia, use the Benevity platform for donations, and your employer will double the amount! This makes your contribution to our projects even more impactful. Please find this project, it has it’s own link!

• Zelle: Send donations through your banking app using our email donate@seattle-envelopes.org It’s an instant and secure way to support us.

• Facebook Donate: On our Facebook page, you can donate via PayPal Giving Fund with no fees.

• Zeffy: This is a convenient platform you may have already seen on our website or in QR codes. It allows you to quickly and easily support us by making a one-time donation or setting up recurring monthly contributions.