War Couldn’t Ground Their Imagination. Ukrainian Kids Crossed a Continent to Prove It.
They crossed a continent for eight minutes onstage and a place to belong.
Commercial flights out of Ukraine are grounded.
The kids took a train to Poland, moved into safer areas, and kept traveling until they reached Destination Imagination’s Global Finals in Kansas City.
They even held their regional tournaments in bomb shelters, just to be safe.
So why did they travel so far? To perform an eight-minute skit, build a set from cardboard, share a story they made themselves, and stand in front of a crowd who cheered for them just as they are.
That’s the power of the nonprofit, Destination Imagination, known as DI.
A Mix of Theater, STEAM, and Pure Kid Energy
Destination Imagination is a global organization based in Blackwood, New Jersey, that helps students build creativity, confidence, and real-world problem-solving skills through hands-on, team-based STEAM challenges.
For over 40 years, DI has helped more than 1.5 million young people build creative confidence, learn to solve problems, and develop a sense of belonging by letting them take charge of their own learning.
Here’s how it works: Teams of up to seven students pick a challenge in areas like engineering, science, fine arts, or improv. They spend months working on a solution, then present it live in an eight-minute performance with costumes, characters, a set they built, and a story that shows their technical work.
It’s similar to a theater show, an engineering fair, and an improv comedy all rolled into one.
Adults can teach skills, like using a miter saw or wiring a circuit. But the solution is up to the kids. No adult tells them what to build or how to solve the challenge. They get to figure it out on their own.
That’s where real learning happens. DI teaches young people how to think, not what to think.
Why This Matters Right Now
A recent statistic shows that creativity is the fourth most important skill employers want by 2030. AI can give answers quickly, but it can’t teach a child to ask the right questions, work through tough problems, bring a team together around a big idea, or share that idea with a room full of strangers through storytelling.
That’s what DI helps kids do every season.
“The problem-solving is about being given any problem, and it’s not defined, and figuring out the process,” says Mark Giordono, CEO of Destination Imagination. “That open-ended, undefined problem-solving skill is needed more than ever before.”
In a world full of AI and fast-changing technology, DI gives kids something deeply human: teamwork, resilience, creative problem-solving, communication, and a sense of belonging.
These aren’t just soft skills. They are skills kids need to thrive.
The Community & Empowerment Kids Remember
For many students, DI becomes the place where they finally feel seen.
A child who doesn’t feel comfortable in sports might find their place building a cardboard set, coding a device, writing a script, designing costumes, solving a technical challenge, or making people laugh.
They don’t have to fit into just one idea of success. They can bring their ideas, humor, perspective, experiences, and imagination to the team.
And then they arrive at a tournament and realize there are thousands of other kids doing the same thing. Kids from different towns, states, and countries suddenly see one another not as strangers, but as fellow problem solvers.
Some of these students traveled by train, crossed borders, and brought their creativity across a continent because DI meant so much to them. When kids are willing to practice in bomb shelters, it’s clear this is more than just an after-school activity.
It’s about hope, connection, and having a place to belong.
The Ask
Now, DI needs people and resources to help bring it to more communities. Access can mean the difference between a child watching from the sidelines and a child discovering, “This is where I belong.”
Here are three ways to help:
Sponsor a team. For about $500, seven students can enjoy a full season of problem-solving, teamwork, creative risk-taking, and belonging. DI keeps costs low on purpose, encourages using recycled and local materials, and offers registration help for teams who need it.
Volunteer. DI depends on volunteers, like team managers who guide the process without giving answers and appraisers who judge student performances at tournaments. No experience is needed. Just show up, step back, and let kids take the lead.
Connect the dots. If you know a teacher, principal, school district, or community leader looking for ways to prepare kids for the future, tell them about DI. In some states, DI is part of schools. In others, it needs someone local to bring it back.
Takeaway
The Ukrainian students didn’t cross a continent just to compete. They came because having a place to create, belong, and be heard still matters.
Some students travel by train from Ukraine, while others travel just a few states away, all searching for the same opportunity. Many more are still waiting for someone to bring that chance to their school or community.
Every child deserves a place where their ideas matter.
Share the Good. Multiply the Impact.
Send this good-news-meets-action story to someone who needs to hear it. Every share helps more people discover causes worth supporting and changemakers worth celebrating.
If you know a nonprofit, changemaker, or purpose-driven brand making a difference, send them here.
I’m always looking for great people and organizations who are helping make our society better.