Our Story

Eleanore’s Kids was founded by James Shetler in 1999 after he made two visits to the city of Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.  There he found many children who, due to various circumstances including families being too impoverished to care for them, were living in orphanages, state sponsored schools, or with extended family.  

Over the years, with the help of donations from people like you, Eleanore’s Kids has sent more than $309,000 to organizations and individuals in the Zaporizhzhya region. In addition, we’ve shipped thousands of pounds of new and used clothing, sports equipment, books, medicines, and televisions for schools.  

Since 2007, we have partnered with the Happy Child Foundation in Zaporizhzhya, helping to provide assistance to children and adults suffering from a myriad of debilitating conditions. 

The current war in Ukraine has made the need for help for these young people even greater.  Many of the people in the Zaporizhzhya area are living day to day without adequate food, water, and medicines. Many lack access to necessary prescribed medications. Our immediate goal is to help ease the burdens these people are carrying, to make their lives healthier and safer.

We’re proud to say our overhead costs are low; only 4% of each dollar raised was spent on administrative, shipping, and fund-raising expenses. All work done in the United States is by volunteers.  

Eleanore’s Kids is a 501c3 organization registered in the State of Minnesota.  As such, donations made are tax deductible.  Consult your financial advisor for further information.

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We encourage you to click on the button below to view Happy Child's website and see all the ways they are making a difference in Ukraine.