EDITORIAL: It's about the kids (03/25/01)

EDITORIAL

It's about the kids

Simsbury, Conn., had the distinction and good fortune earlier this month to host a heartwarming and moving event: a unique charity ice show at that town's International Skating Center of Connecticut organized by Ukrainian figure skating star Viktor Petrenko, an Olympic and world champion.

After a fateful meeting last year in New York City at an event marking Ukrainian Independence Day, Mr. Petrenko teamed up with the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund. He said he wanted to do something truly meaningful for "a place dear to my heart."

The result was "Viktory for Kids," a benefit show on Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, featuring top figure skaters and ice dancers whose proceeds ($120,000 at press time) are going toward establishing a neonatal intensive care unit in Odesa, Mr. Petrenko's hometown - the place where he was born, reared and educated, and where he learned his art.

He approached his friends, fellow skaters, to participate in this endeavor. The first to respond was another Olympic and world champion, American Brian Boitano, who is loved and known the world over for his powerful and consistent artistry. Affirmative answers came also from fellow Ukrainians, Viacheslav Zagorodniuk, Ukraine's national champion, and the acrobatic team of Vladimir Besedin of Donetsk (whose little pixie of a daughter, Anna, also performed with him) and Alexei Polishchuk of Kyiv.

But there were others as well: the flamboyant Frenchman Philippe Candeloro (who raced to JFK International Airport in New York after the Saturday evening show to catch a flight back to France, where he had other engagements), the delightful American silver medalist Sasha Cohen (all of 16 years old), two Israelis, a Swiss, an Italian and several Russian pairs, both figure skaters and ice dancers. It was a remarkable cast that came together for a most worthwhile cause. And even those who could not be there contributed, witness one skater, John Zimmerman, who was forced to pull out of the show due to injury but made a donation.

And then there was Ekaterina (Katia) Gordeeva, herself no stranger to tragedy (her husband and skating partner, Sergei Grinkov, died in 1995 at age 28 ), who briefly told the audience about the Chornobyl accident, and eloquently underlined: "This show is not about you or me. It's not about Viktor or any of the other great skaters donating their efforts tonight. This is about kids ... who are still suffering as a result of this terrible accident."

A reading of works by children survivors of Chornobyl was given by students from Central Elementary School in Simsbury, including Ms. Gordeeva's daughter, Daria Grinkova, 8; the Roaring Brook Elementary School Chorus of nearby Avon and the Jagged Ice children's precision skating team each performed. It was these children's gift to their less fortunate peers.

A slide show of photographs by Joseph Sywenkyj, accompanied by hauntingly beautiful, mournful music, focused on children in Ukraine's orphanages and hospitals, no doubt, touching, each and every member of the audience to the core. (The local fire marshals were so moved that they waived their usual fee for the event.)

And then there was the show, with each of the stars skating as if propelled by some supernatural force, for this was a singular event, an extraordinary chance to share with others.

In the end came a well-deserved standing ovation for Mr. Petrenko, a man of few words and a heart of gold, whose deeds said it all.

The more than 3,200 people present on those two nights in the intimate arena knew and felt they were part of something very special. They understood: "It's about the kids" - the kids in Ukraine who deserve a better tomorrow.

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