SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

​The Kazickas Family Foundation supports organizations that empower Lithuania’s current and future generations.

The Kazickas’ “Odyssey of Hope” brought our family to America – the new world of freedom, opportunity and prosperity in 1945, but we never forgot our heritage and homeland. As a family foundation, our mission is to support organizations in Lithuania and the diaspora that are working to create a better future for Lithuanians everywhere.

The Kazickas Family Foundation primarily supports nonprofit organizations working to advance the cause of Lithuanians, though we will at times support organizations working on unrelated causes around the world.

 Founded on the belief that one learns best about oneself by learning about others, the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture strives to preserve, perpetuate, and showcase Lithuanian culture and traditions; to celebrate the achievements of the Lithuanian nation and its people worldwide; and to share with and learn from other cultures. As a distinctly Chicago, Illinois-based institution, the Balzekas Museum seeks to serve its local West Lawn neighborhood, the City of Chicago at large, the State of Illinois, and the United States, by telling the story of waves of Lithuanian immigrants who settled here and gave their best to shape this city, state, and nation, while never forgetting their love for their ancestral land. 

Lithuanian immigrants have settled in Chicago since the latter half of the 19th century. Today, Chicago is home to the largest Lithuania community outside Lithuania and is sister-cities to Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture was founded in 1966 during the height of the Cold War when Lithuania was subsumed into the Soviet Union and cut off from the rest of the world. Concerned about the plight of their ancestral land, leaders of Chicago’s Lithuanian community established the Museum to serve as a cultural ‘home away from the homeland’ for Chicago Lithuanians and a gateway to Lithuania, its language, history, culture, and traditions for all Chicagoans. 

A2 for Ukraine is dedicated to supporting the resilient people of Ukraine by providing critical medical supplies to those in need. Our upcoming fundraiser dinner brings our community together to make a tangible difference.

Each day, on her Twitter feed Rima asks, "What are we doing to help Ukraine today?"  It is a simple call to charity that I hope will inspire you as it has inspired me.

All proceeds from ticket sales and your generous donations will be spent buying life-saving medical supplies and equipment for the brave men, women, and children of Ukraine in benefit of the work of an American volunteer combat medic who is operating on the zero-line in Ukraine, Rima Ziuraitis. Rima is a combat medicine (CMC/CPP) certified / NAEMT certified tactical medicine instructor who, since the earliest days of the full-scale invasion, has volunteered to save lives and to teach combat medicine in Ukraine.

In the event of a lasting cease-fire, Rima plans to stay in Ukraine and work to rebuild Ukrainian hospitals and medical facilities; over 2,100 hospitals and medical facilities have been destroyed or damaged since the start of the full-scale invasion. She would also work with disabled veterans and civilians, provide medical support to teams performing de-mining operations, and continue to provide training in combat medicine in Ukraine.