our story
Project Speak Together was founded at the beginning of the pandemic, to help children from the Ukraine and USA connect through learning and teaching conversational English language skills. I envisioned this project would not only help Ukrainian children and teens improve their English but also connect them to form a global community, giving them a unique opportunity to learn more about each other’s culture, traditions, and day to day life.
The project rapidly expanded to include middle and high school students as well as one-to-one tutoring of younger children. Young adults from different states connected via zoom during the weekly sessions with the Ukrainian children and through the program, many became friends.
On February 24th, 2022, Russia invaded the Ukraine. People were forced to shelter underground escaping Russian missiles raining from once peaceful sky. For two weeks our program did not meet due to the danger and loss of connectivity that the children faced. The Ukrainian children and the tutors came together during these difficult times and started meeting again, talking about their daily lives. These stories were different from before but all full of hope and desire to help. Within the first days of the war, Ukrainian students created a video plea to the world sharing their pain and asking the global community to help. A number of our students were finding ways to support Ukraine by donating their art work, through raising funds on GoFundMe platform, or organizing fundraising events at their schools.
Project Speak Together partnered with Santa Rosa Rotary Club (link) and schools in the Ukraine to organize a series of art fundraisers that raised over $50k. You can learn more at: sunflowersofukraine.org.
We are continuing to meet weekly and learn together. We are currently in the process of starting educational support programs to help Ukrainian refugees of all ages learn English. There are a number of ways to support us by becoming a tutor (link) or participating in the upcoming fundraisers.
Sincerely,
Matthew Tarvin,
Founder and Leader of Project Speak Together
Our story
Matthew Tarvin, Founder & Leader
Sergii Sayenko, Project Coordinator in Ukraine
Sergii Sayenko, Project Coordinator in Ukraine
I founded Project Speak Together at the start of 2021 to help children from the Ukraine and USA connect through learning and teaching conversational English language skills. My desire to build connections between Ukrainian and American young adults and children was forged from my family history with my mother and her family being Ukrainia
I founded Project Speak Together at the start of 2021 to help children from the Ukraine and USA connect through learning and teaching conversational English language skills. My desire to build connections between Ukrainian and American young adults and children was forged from my family history with my mother and her family being Ukrainian and I had spent many summers there honing my translation skills. I envisioned this project would not only help Ukrainian children and teens improve their English but also connect them to form a global community, giving them a unique opportunity to learn more about each other’s culture, traditions, and day to day life.
Sergii Sayenko, Project Coordinator in Ukraine
Sergii Sayenko, Project Coordinator in Ukraine
Sergii Sayenko, Project Coordinator in Ukraine
Headmaster of Cherkasy First City Gymnasia, Rotary club "Cherkasy-Center", head of the Interact club, head of the regional Association of Heads of New Type Schools (since 2016).
Sergii is our project coordinator who works with our students located in the Ukraine and coordinates the program with our US-based tutors and leadership team.
117 Tutors from California
117 Tutors from California
117 Tutors from California
We have been fortunate to have built a large and vibrant community of 117 high school tutors across California who are volunteering their time to connect with Ukrainian elementary and high school students to aid them in their mastery of the English language as well as share their life experiences and knowledge.
2000+ Hours of Tutoring
117 Tutors from California
117 Tutors from California
Our global team have completed over 2000 hours of tutoring through Project Speak Together.
