{"id":22628,"date":"2014-07-22T10:29:08","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T14:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=22628"},"modified":"2014-07-23T13:56:48","modified_gmt":"2014-07-23T17:56:48","slug":"ukranian-crisis-hits-home-for-wcu-swimmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=22628","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian crisis hits home for WCU swimmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Family flees war-torn Donetsk, seeks safety in US<\/em><\/span><\/b><\/em><\/span>; Chesco s<\/b>wim community rallies in support<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kim Chiomento<\/strong>, Correspondent, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"SharkandDavid\"<\/a>

Teammates, friends \u2014 and a now a lifeline. West Chester University swimmers Dave McCormick, left, and Bogden \u201cShark\u201d Grebenyuk formed a tight bond as Ram swimmers. But now, as Grebenyuk’s family was forced to flee war-torn Ukraine, just miles from where a Malaysian airliner was shot down by terrorists, the Chester County swim community is stepping up to offer the family a safe haven.<\/p><\/div>\n

WEST CHESTER \u2013 West Chester University (WCU) swimmer, Dave McCormick, had no idea that his decision to transfer from the University of Maryland to be closer to home would have such a profoundly positive impact on so many.<\/p>\n

McCormick, who arrived at WCU in 2012 and is a West Chester native, immediately bonded with his aquatics lane and breast stroke partner – Bogdan \u201cShark\u201d Grebenyuk; an international swimmer hailing from Donetsk, Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Dave\u2019s parents, Chris and Ken McCormick (the latter is the Athletic Director at West Chester Henderson High School), welcomed Bogdan to Sunday dinners and family holiday celebrations with the hopes of easing any \u201chomesickness\u201d this international swimmer might have.\u00a0 While David and Bogdan\u2019s friendship continued to grow, so did their two families\u2019 with the help of social media and online translation services.\u00a0 Both the McCormicks and Grebenyuks were in regular communication with each other.\u00a0 Ken McCormick, David\u2019s dad, fondly says, \u201cBogdan is just a great kid. He\u2019s everything we hope our three sons are\u2014polite, kind and a genuine young man…and he has become family.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the McCormicks, Bogdan is also a terrific role model, \u201cHe\u2019s regimented with his studies and training,” Ken said. “Incredibly, just three years ago he didn\u2019t speak any English and today he is completely fluent.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his discipline, Bogdan is a contributing member of the WCU community as a youth aquatics instructor.\u00a0 In the summer, he trains at the Roslyn Swim Club with Golden Ram Aquatics where he takes time to encourage younger swimmers and offer them assistance.<\/p>\n

This February, The McCormicks started having serious concerns about the Grebenyuk family as Donetsk was becoming increasingly drawn into the growing civil war.\u00a0 Initial reports from the Grebenyuks indicated that they were safe, but as events began to unfold, the violence continued to get much closer to home and their situation quickly deteriorated.\u00a0 Bogdan, after learning about the bombing of the Donetsk airport in his home town, approached the McCormicks about how to get his parents out of the Ukraine.<\/p>\n

A poignant perspective is Malaysian Air flight MH17 was just recently shot down approximately 20 miles from where the Grebenyuks reside.<\/p>\n

Ken McCormick commented, \u201cAs Americans we hear of conflicts like those in the Ukraine, ISIS in Iraq, Palestine & Israel…and we may experience higher gas or food prices, see horrific photos on TV but when it hits home like this has, it becomes extremely powerful and emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

After seeking legal counsel, the McCormicks learned that Bogdan\u2019s parents could travel to the United States based on the visas they held to come see their son at WCU.<\/p>\n

For the Grebenyuks, the defining moment came when Bogdan\u2019s father, a renowned Ukrainian orthopedic surgeon, became targeted by terrorists.\u00a0 Dr. Grebenyuk was shot at several times and had the terrifying experience of participating in his own staged mock execution, being sent a \u201cmessage\u201d by the terrorists. \u00a0He was placed on his knees, bound, and had shots fired in close proximity to his head, all while his wife knelt at his side.\u00a0 Miraculously, through his pleas and his captors\u2019 review of his in-hand papers that included his medical credentials; he was able to convince the terrorists that he was a physician and had operated on many victims of the civil war, including the terrorists\u2019 comrades.<\/p>\n

The Grebenyuks fled the Ukraine, leaving with just a few suitcases and selling their family car on the way to the airport for cash. On Tuesday, July 8, The Grebenyuks arrived in West Chester and are currently in the process of seeking political asylum in the United States, a complicated and expensive process that will take some time.\u00a0 For now, they are living in Bogdan\u2019s college apartment but will need to leave by mid-August. They are currently seeking assistance in the following areas:<\/p>\n

\u2022 A place to stay in the West Chester area (short term lease where pets are permitted.)
\n\u2022 Assistance in learning English
\n\u2022 The essential means for living on one\u2019s own \u2013food, clothing, furniture and cash.<\/p>\n

The Chester County swim community, with the assistance of the McCormick family, is helping spread to the word on this family\u2019s needs and incredible story.\u00a0 A charitable fund has been established in their name.\u00a0 For more information, visit the Facebook Page<\/b>:\u00a0 \u201cHave a Heart for Shark<\/a>.\u201d<\/b>\u00a0 If you wish to make a financial contribution, please write a check made payable to the Grebenyuk Family Fund.\u00a0 Gift cards for clothes and groceries are also welcomed.<\/p>\n

Your donations may be sent to:<\/p>\n

The Grebenyuk Family Fund<\/strong><\/p>\n

PO Box 800<\/strong><\/p>\n

West Chester, PA 19381<\/strong><\/p>\n

Or you can donate directly on line, via this link:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/haveaheartforshark<\/a><\/p>\n

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Family flees war-torn Donetsk, seeks safety in US; Chesco swim community rallies in support By Kim Chiomento, Correspondent, The Times WEST CHESTER \u2013 West Chester University (WCU) swimmer, Dave McCormick, had no idea that his decision to transfer from the University of Maryland to be closer to home would have such a profoundly positive impact […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[5858,4652,5859,5857,1545],"class_list":["post-22628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-donetsk","tag-golden-ram-aquatics","tag-mh17","tag-ukraine","tag-west-chester-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}