DVOU's eBay Auction - Round TWO April 9-15th, 2003
by Anonymous

*Shortcut instructions to DVOU's eBay items*
log onto www.ebay.com and type in DVOU to see list of items! Please read below for instructions on how to become an eBay member.

***

Thank you for your interest in DVOU's first fundraising event, which is currently being held on eBay. It started on Sunday April 6th and has now been EXTENDED until April 15th!

Get ready for round two! Now you'll have a chance to bid on those items that had been added on in the middle of the auction or has been extended!

This auction is to benefit orphans with special needs such as Cerebral Palsy, Downs syndrome, tuberculosis HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Join DVOU to help support disadvantaged orphaned and abandoned children who desperately need humanitarian aid, medical relief, education and childcare training for adminitrators and orphanage staff!

Currently, DVOU is supporting the children's orphange in Torez for severely mentally challanged children and begining a project with an HIV/AIDS facility in Donetsk (both in the Donetsk oblast) in Ukraine.

THE EBAY AUCTION    

No need to leave your home for this auction! Pop in your favorite CD's, raid your fridge and slippers are required!

In order to participate on eBay, you will first need to register, if you have not already done so. Log onto www.ebay.com and in the blue box at the top of the homepage where it says Welcome New Users, click on the third button "register now". You will then be taken to a page where you will need to add information about yourself. Fill in the application to become a member user and you'll be set!

From there, you can return to the homepage, if you wish, by clicking on the eBay logo in the top left corner of each page. To find DVOU's items up for bid, all you will need to do is type in the yellow search box (on the top of the home page and on the top left on subsequent pages): DVOU

A list of our items will then be shown.

*Please note: DVOU's member/user ID is DVOUkraine

You will able to browse the list of items that DVOU will have up for auction and if an item will peek your interest, you can click on the item title for a more detailed description and other information. Payment instructions will also be included under each item. Should you wish to bid on an item, you will see at the bottom of the page the area where you can bid your price. If someone else over bids you, you will receive from eBay an email notification. You'll then have the chance to continue bidding until the end of the auction. As well, you will be able to monitor your bids in My eBay, located at the top of the page.

Of course, should you not be a winning bidder of an item or you do not choose to bid on any of our listings, you are still more than welcome to contribute to DVOU via mail or online. More information can be found in the Make a Donation pages of DVOU's website.

Contributions are tax deductible.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Lilia at admin@dvou.org.

OUR SPONSORS

Winner Automotive Group ~ Solaris Grill ~ Ukrainochka.com ~ Dnister Company ~ Lida Chachra ~ Trypillian.com ~ Antiques from the Avenue ~ Souli Tile & Stone ~ El Quetzal ~ Ani Lorak Company ~ Sally's Flowers & Fruit Baskets ~ Randolf's ~ www.umka.com.ua ~ Art Gallery Sunflower ~ Petrus Gallery ~ Rose Bank Winery ~ Jillian's ~ T&T East ~ Classic Children ~ Vechirka ~ Babycz ~ trendycloset.com ~ Outback Steakhouse ~ The Wine School of Philadelphia ~ di Pietro Todd Salon ~ Company's Coming! ~ The American Ballet Theater ~ Michael Bolton Foundation ~ Nathalie Studio ~ Blakes Photography ~ The Antique Gallery ~ Tortes by Talia ~ Soyuzivka ~ Lime Street Studios ~ Cité Restaurant ~ Red Poppy Ukrainian Boutique ~ Mary Wozniak ~ Tania D'Avignion ~ Rometta Salon & Spa ~ Society Hill Dance Academy ~ Baby Boutique/ABC & 123 ~ NorthEast Aviation ~ ukrainiangifts.com ~ Studio Bini ~ Murder Mystery Players ~ Grandover Golf Resort and Spa ~ Andrea Cipriani Photography ~ The Noble Fool ~ The Cooking School of Aspen ~ Dave & Busters ~ The Grand Hotel ~ Art by Simona    

The automobile for auction will be listed on Monday, April 7th in eBay Motors. For best possibilities to seel, this item will be posted for 10 days.

Throughout the week of April 1st before the auction, the list may be updated, so keep watching!

Join us in DVOU's first auction to bid on exciting items such as:

Weekend Getaways
Antiques and collectibles
Ukrainian gift items
Golf packages
A car!
Autographed items
Mini-spas
Restaurant and dinner theater certificates
Music CD's
Portrait packages
Children's items
                              ...and much more!

Thanks in advance for your generous donations at DVOU's first auction event! Good luck & happy bidding!

* * *

How DVOU works:

Monetary Distribution

After careful research, it was decided that DVOU will not be collecting and shipping humanitarian relief to Ukraine. Instead, we will be raising funds and transfering them to designated partners and representatives who are fully responsible in executing our programs in Ukraine. There are two reasons for this: 1. shipping and customs fees tend to be more expensive than the actual value of the contents. Often times, materials sent can become infested, outdated (expired) or somehow damaged and become unusable. 2. purchasing materials near the orphanages that we are supporting helps stimulate the local economy. We will be contacting warehouses, factories and stores to negotiate discounts for any needed materials for purchase. Sometimes, surpluses exist (surprise!) in Ukraine and DVOU will work through these outlets as well.    

American Peace Corp in Ukraine

In order to carefully make sure that the transfer of funds and programs are properly implemented, DVOU has the assistance of several American Peace Corp volunteers to monitor and report our various projects, starting in the Donetsk region (see below Partnering with Dobrota in Donetsk).

Reporting and documentation

~ Photographs and videos
~ Project reports through eNewsletters: a step by step account of items and quantities purchased on orphanage "wish list", how much they cost in hryvnias and costs converted into dollars
~ Press releases and articles
~ Detailed quarterly and annual financial reports posted on the DVOU website
~ Independent accounts reporting: medical and general volunteers who travel to Ukraine for DVOU projects will be required to report their observations, for independent points of view of project quality and process improvement.
~ Planned and surprise inspections: With all our humanitarian, health care & training projects in the orphanages that we are supporting, DVOU and its partners will be conducting planned and unplanned "check ups" of the improvements and progresses of our programs. American Peace Corp volunteers will be present during these inspections as well, to ensure projects are successfully executed.         
~Future Kyiv office: At the earliest possible opportunity in 2003, we are planning to open up an office in Kyiv to establish a firm control and monitoring over DVOU activities and projects in Ukraine.

Partnering with Dobrota in Donetsk

DVOU and Donetsk City Charity Foundation Dobrota have formed a partnership to support Donetsk region orphanages for special needs children.

Dobrota was established in 1998 by a team of local doctors after the Ukrainian national budget was significantly reduced for health care, education and social protection institutions. Their target groups are those who became the most vulnerable of the Donetsk population: the disabled, orphans and seriously ill children. For more information about Dobrota, please visit www.dobrota.donetsk.ua and click on the area at the bottom right corner of the home page for their English version.

Melanie C. Peyser, former team leader on USAID's "Assessment of Non Governmental and Civil Society Organizations in Ukraine and Moldova", reported in 2001:

Some organizations are moving forward with successful local fundraising strategies based on openness, transparency, and flexibility. Despite a tax and regulatory environment that does not encourage charitable giving, a growing number of NGOs are proving that they are capable of raising both in-kind and direct support from local businesses. One charitable fund in Donetsk, Dobrota, has raised over $325,000 in cash, goods, and services from local sources through a combination of complete financial transparency, an aggressive fundraising and marketing campaign, and a high degree of flexibility in accepting different forms of support.

In correspondence with Ms. Peyser, now Director at the Center of Justice in Moscow, she wrote, "...my instinct was that Dobrota was straight up and had put in all of the right systems to ensure solid financial management and ethics in their work".

Currently, Dobrota also employs an American Peace Corp worker who acts as their facilitator, a troubleshooter and develops project plans for the charity organization and works together with DVOU, as well.

Dobrota assists DVOU in Ukraine with project management, cost accounting, monitoring and control of distributing goods and materials to designated orphanages. Together with several American Peace Corp volunteers, we have formed a "triangle" of trust between DVOU, Dobrota and APC volunteers to ensure funds are properly allocated, managed and distributed to disabled and vulnerable orphans in the Donetsk region.    



This article courtesy of http://www.buy-and-sell-ebay.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Submit Your Article