Donation Will Help Ukrainian Hospitality Students

June 21, 2022 – Sarasota

A donation from a Sarasota nonprofit group will benefit two Ukrainian students in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus. 

Designing Women Boutique receives donations of high-end clothing, furniture and other items, and then sells them from a storefront in Sarasota. Part of the proceeds are then donated to various other nonprofit organizations. Past beneficiaries include WUSF and the USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Chancellor’s Fund. 

“We are honored to be included among the organizations receiving support from Designing Women Boutique,” said Karen Holbrook, regional chancellor for the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. “All the organizations are doing great work for the betterment of our community.” 

Designing Women’s Boutique’s recent donation of $2,500 in scholarships to the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus will help cover academic expenses for Halyna Horpynich and Melissa Korolchuk, two students from Ukraine who fled their country because of the war. They will enroll this fall in the graduate program at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, said Dean Cihan Cobanoglu. 

“We are extremely pleased with the generosity of Designing Women Boutique,” Cobanoglu said. “The School of Hospitality is here to create a talent pipeline for our local businesses in Sarasota-Manatee and Tampa Bay areas. To receive support from a local organization such as Designing Women Boutique is so meaningful as it allows us to bring support back to the local area. It is a full circle.” 

Ida Zito, president of Designing Women Boutique, recently presented the donation for the hospitality students to Holbrook and Marrie Neumer, associate vice president of University Advancement at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. 

The donation came after Zito in March attended HospitaBull, a fund-raising dinner for the program. Zito said she came away impressed by the hospitality students who prepared and presented the meals, “as I observed their enthusiasm and their appreciation for opportunities that will benefit their career advancement.” 

Zito added she was “very proud” to help students in the program.