Gymnasts of Kratos Gymnastics of Bethel, CT are taking initiative and jump starting a community of gymnasts who are working to raise funds for fellow gymnasts living through the hardships of war in Ukraine!
In addition to owning and operating Kratos Gymnastics, Ashley & Mihael Anton opened a non-profit humanitarian foundation called “The Power of A Dream Foundation” during covid to aid the lives/careers of young gymnasts. Mihael, a Romanian immigrant to America, knew he had to take action when the war hit close to his native home.
Knowing the desperation the Ukrainian people would face, Ashley and Mihael decided it was time to change initiatives with their foundation, and focus on raising funds for gymnasts of Ukraine who need help more than anyone in the world at this moment.
While working in conjunction with members of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee and gymnastics Federation of Ukraine to find ways to help, Ashley & Mihael learned of the death of up-and-coming Olympic hopeful, Katya Dyachenko, and knew they needed to take immediate action.
Noticing gymnasts still living in Ukraine were using Zoom as their primary way to continue training as leaving the house was not safe and gymnastics gyms were bombed, Ashley and Mihael spoke with members of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee and gymnastics federation and began coordinating Master Class Zoom events to raise awareness of the circumstances worldwide in Ukraine while raising both moral & money for the gymnasts living there!
The first event of many to come was held on Sunday, March 27th and was hosted by 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist, Nataliya, Leshchyk. Gymnasts paid a tax deductible $100 donation to the Power of A Dream Foundation to join in person or virtually. While gymnasts from around the world logged in for training by paid donation, 16 gymnasts between the ages of 8-12 still living in Ukraine logged on for free, opening their cameras to supportive gymnasts of their age to boost their spirits and have an “international” training experience.
In addition to the registration fees, donations were collected totaling $1,200 for the first event, all of which was sent to Ukraine to be distributed to families in need.This weekend on Sunday, April 3 from 11:00am-12:00pm New York time, Kratos Gymnastics/The Power of A Dream Foundation will be hosting a second Master Class. This time World Championship Silver Medalist Irina Kovalchuk will be the host. There are 18 Ukrainian gymnasts scheduled to join from Ukraine, along with gymnasts who signed up to participate from around the world, again making a donation to join!
Gymnastics enthusiasts, artistic and rhythmic of all levels, are welcome to join in on the event by visiting https://go.rallyup.com/gsg/Campaign/Details . Once signed up each gymnast will be given a personal fundraising page to help crowdfund! Humanitarian supporters can make donations of any amount by visiting the fundraiser page!
Moreau Leotard USA is a corporate sponsor of the event.
Moreau was established in 1984 in France to provide the gymnastics market with variety and quality design. Since its foundation, 36 years ago, Moreau has been striving to bring innovation into the gymnastics leotards environment. The Moreau company is the leader on the European market. In July 2018, Moreau decided to implement a new ambitious international project in the US with CM Distribution that is the official distributor in this area. CM Distribution and Moreau Company work together to meet the expectations of the US Gymnastics market.