Ukraine fundraiser generates $250,000 for Saskatoon sister city

Applause filled the room Wednesday as students from Bethlehem Catholic High School flipped signs with numbers on stage, revealing that $250,000 had been raised for Ukraine thanks to a luncheon put on by a Saskatoon committee.

The event was raising money specifically for the city of Chernivtsi, Saskatoon’s Ukrainian sister city.

About 400 business owners and community members attended the event, in the name of helping to purchase, donate and ship essential supplies that Saskatoon’s Ukrainian sister city needs.

Laurianne Gabruch was part of the committee that organized the afternoon. She says the money is going towards practical needs like bandages, but will also pay for a plane to help get the supplies where they need to be delivered.

Gabruch is a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress’ Saskatoon branch and a semi-retired teacher working at Bethlehem Catholic High School in the Ukrainian bilingual program. It was her students who helped out at the afternoon event.

“It is good for them to see the support,” Gabruch said, noting there have been many hard conversations over messages and in the classroom since war first broke out in Ukraine.

She said students have been most impacted by the stress and distress they see their parents endure, worrying about family and friends back in Ukraine. It has led to a lot of “moments.”

Kateryna Tokarska, 13, performs at the luncheon for Ukraine on May 4, 2022. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

Kateryna Tokarska, 13, attends Bishop Filevich Bilingual Ukrainian School. She performed a song at the lunch.

The teen has spent her whole life singing Ukrainian music and grew up travelling to the country to visit family.

“It felt really good (to perform) because you know it’s for a great cause,” Tokarska said.

She said her family in Ukraine has been mostly safe and is working to help others around them as much as they can.

“It’s nice to see that so many people have Ukrainian background and they’re trying as hard as they can to spread awareness about it (in Saskatoon),” she said about Wednesday’s event.

Father Patrick Powalinksy is a representative with the province’s Ukrainian Canadian Congress. He attended the event to support the city of Chernivtsi, which he has visited five times himself.

“They’re overwhelmed with everything happening,” he said.

The last time he visited Ukraine was in 2019. Powalinsky said he’s glad Saskatoon has come together to support the city, especially to provide needed items. The son of his friend is currently a firefighter in Kyiv.

“He says it’s very interesting when you’re putting out a fire (in) a 20-storey building and bombs are flying above you and you don’t know if you’re going to be living longer,” Powalinsky said.

He shared the money raised will “go a long way” in Ukraine.