Our first fundraiser on Dec 18 was a lot of fun with authentic Ukrainian food, live music and stories of resilience and hope from our new Ukrainian friends that recently arrived in Canada, trying to escape the horrors of the war back home.
Most newcomers from Ukraine are women and children, like Sveta and her son, as all men had to stay behind to fight in the war.
For Sveta it’s the second war that she is trying to escape. First time it was when she lived in Donbass in 2008, the second time, it was this year when she lived in Odessa. Sveta said that her and her husband bought a house there a day before the war started again. Read more about Sveta’s story.
My good friend Keith McDonald performed his original song called “Our Ukraine” that he’s written specifically for our Ukrainian Christmas Fundraiser. It was incredibly moving.
We were excited to raise $2350 and to collect a lot of boxes of donated clothing at our first fundraising event. Huge “Thank You” to everyone that came and donated their time or money!
Here are some event highlights.
