The basement of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church was buzzing with excitement on May 21st, as the Kalyna Ukrainian group worked hard at preparing their second fundraising supper within the city of Prince Albert.
The goal was to provide non-lethal aid to Ukraine’s Army in their ongoing effort against Russian invasion of their homeland.
“The first supper we had was at St, George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church,” organizer Yuliya Krupka stated.
“We started it on the West Flat, now we wanted to do it on the East Flat. We wanted to involve everyone, and include all parts of Prince Albert, because we are a huge family.”
The 15 members of the Kalyna Ukrainian group have been hard at work preparing perogies as part of the feast. If they have their way, those efforts will continue over the next few months.
“We are planning on having another supper in the summer, and perhaps another in the fall,” said Krupka.
The Kalyna group includes people from outside of Prince Albert like member Mariya Firman, who was enthusiastic about what the future may hold with perogy-making.
“They helped us make perogies, so it’s been fun for us to see other people from other communities come to help,” said Firman. “We had other church members from Ukrainian Orthodox Church to come out and help us. We had quite a bit of help from the elderly people.”
The funds raised will be going to the Serhiy Prytula Charity, which in turn will be used to help purchase non-lethal tactical and medical equipment four the Ukrainian Army.
“It’s like in our spirit,” Krupka said. “If there’s something going on, (then) something needs to be done when somebody is suffering. As a people, we need to gather together and help as much as possible as soon as we can.
“It’s quiet here [in Canada], but in Ukraine, it is not quiet. There are missiles every night, and I think it’s an opportunity to help other people as much as we can.”
Krupa said the group wished they didn’t have to fundraise for a war in Ukraine, but as long as there is one, they’re committed to supporting their homeland.
“I wish we wouldn’t have to do that this way,” she said. “I wish there would be something else we can do. Right now during this time, there’ll be other happier moments to help people, but unfortunately, this is the reality of our life, and I think we just have to do as much as we can.”
Part of the extended list of thank-you’s from the organizers were Peter Abrametz Jr, the Very Reverent Archpriest Michael Lomaszkeiwicz, and the staff at Shananigan’s.
Jeannette Kindzerski cooked and transported all of the meats and stuffing from Shananigan’s kitchen to the church basement Saturday afternoon, which included beautifully cooked beef, turkey, and bison.
For anyone who wants to donate a bit sooner than the next fundraising supper, check out www.prytulafoundation.org.