Help Sonya achieve her dream

Sofiya (Sonya) Kolomiyets is a 13-year-old sweet girl from Ukraine who came to the US with her mother and two sisters to escape the war. Back at home, Sonya trained as a rhythmic gymnast since she was 4. She has always been passionate about rhythmic gymnastics. When she had to flee her homeland, she left her father, her friends, her home, her favorite sport, and her entire life behind. Luckily, her mother found the Houston Rhythmic Gymnastics club, and Sonya was able to continue training. Through the HRG club, Sonya made new friends and is slowly adjusting to a new lifestyle, a new culture, and a new country.

This competition season, Sonya could participate in several out-of-town competitions: Miss Texas Invitational, Texas State championship, Rhythmic Art Invitation in Florida, Vitri Stars Invitations in Chicago, Region IV Championship, and possibly Junior Olympics. Sonya's dream is to compete in at least some of the events. Unfortunately, Sonya's family has limited resources, and this aspiring young rhythmic gymnast will be unable to travel to the competitions with her teammates unless we help her.

My daughter Katherine Schmidt is Sonya's teammate and a close friend. I started this fundraiser after getting to know Sonya and her family. I first met Sonya and her mother this summer when they came to our rhythmic gymnastics summer camp. I have gotten to know this family better over the past few months. Once our head coach announced which competitions our girls would be attending this season, I could tell that it would not be easy for Sonya. Eventually, Sonya's mother Nadiia Tereshchenko shared with me that they cannot afford to pay for the travel, hotel, and registration fees for the competitions, but they are too proud and too modest to ask for help. I wanted to help, and I hope you, too, will support Sonya and make a difference for this little girl with a big dream.

GoFundMe created several roadblocks and set forth some harsh requirements in order for this fundraiser to go live. I was demanded to provide a lot of personal information, so here it goes:

Name: Anna Schmidt, Ph.D.

Occupation: English Professor

Employer: Lone Star College, Cypress, TX

Integrity: extreme

Beneficiary: Sofiya Kolomiyts (13 yr old)

How the funds will be distributed: because of the legal status of Sofiya and her family and GoFundMe requirements, I was not able to set them up as direct beneficiaries. For one, they do not have a social security number or a permanent US address which are required for money transfers. The funds will be handed to the girl's mother. All legal and financial proof of fund transfers will be made available immediately upon request.