Petrenko organizes "Viktory for Kids" ice show to benefit CCRF (03/25/01)

Petrenko organizes "Viktory for Kids" ice show to benefit CCRF

by Alex Kuzma

SIMSBURY, Conn. - Just eight weeks before the Chornobyl nuclear disaster's 15th anniversary, Ukraine's figureskating Olympic and world champion Viktor Petrenko invited his friends from the international skating community to help him raise public awareness and funds to help some of the thousands of children still being affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster.

On March 2 and 3 here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut Mr. Petrenko headlined an all-star cast that included Olympic and world champion Brian Boitano of the United States, French sensation Philippe Candeloro, an Olympic and world medalist, as well as U.S. silver medalist Sasha Cohen in "Viktory for Kids," a two-night benefit performance for the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF).

Proceeds from the sold-out event are earmarked for the creation of the Victor Petrenko Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Mr. Petrenko's hometown of Odesa. In an extensive interview with the Hartford Courant and USA Today, Mr. Petrenko explained his motivation for organizing this unique benefit performance for CCRF. "I received a lot from my city to get where I am today ... That's where I grew up ... That's where I learned to skate ... Now this is my chance to pay them back." Mr. Petrenko described the many people he had seen in Odesa who had survived Chornobyl, only to be stricken with cancer or to see their children stricken with birth defects.

Mr. Petrenko turned to his close friend, Mr. Boitano, who was the first to agree to skate in this charity fund-raiser. Among the other skaters who also donated their time and waived their performance fees were: Swiss national champion Lucinda Ruh, Ukrainian national champion Viacheslav Zagorodniuk, Italian national champion Silvia Fontana, Ukrainian daredevil acrobats Volodymyr Besedin and Alexei Polishchuk, Israeli national champions Darya Zuravicky and Michael Shmerkin, Olympic pairs champions Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev; as well as Russian ice dancing stars Roman Kostomarov and Tatiana Navka, Maya Usova and Evgeny Platov, and Angelica Krylova and Oleg Ovsannikov.

With the help of Mr. Petrenko's all-star cast, the International Skating Center and the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund were able to secure sponsorships from several major corporations, led by title sponsor Cingular Wireless and Environmental Systems Products (ESP), which financed widespread advertising campaigns on television and radio, and in the print media. The Hartford Courant and WFSB-Channel 3, Connecticut's CBS affiliate, provided extensive news coverage and promotional ads for CCRF.

Western Union Financial Services also made a major contribution in honor of Mr. Petrenko, who serves as the spokesperson for the company's Eastern European campaign. Western Union marketing director Rennie Jackson presented CCRF with a check for $9,400 for the purchase of an infant warmer for the Petrenko Neonatal Unit.

Other local and national sponsors included the Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. (CNG) and Virginia-based EuroTech, a manufacturer of innovative technology to encase and safeguard nuclear waste at the Chornobyl site. CCRF received net proceeds of $120,000 above expenses, and more donations are still coming in to the fund's New Haven office.

CCRF is an award-winning New Jersey-based charity that has recently completed its 27th airlift to Ukraine. All told, the fund has delivered over 1,300 tons of medical and humanitarian aid valued at $46 million to hospitals that specialize in the treatment of children affected by thyroid cancer, birth defects and other illness believed to be linked to radiation exposure.

CCRF has established six neonatal units similar to the one planned for Odesa. These newborn intensive care units have had a major impact on infant mortality in CCRF's partner hospitals in Lutsk, Poltava, Chernihiv, Rivne, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv. The Ukrainian investigative journal Fakty has verified that technology and training provided by CCRF has reduced mortality in the Poltava Maternity Center by newly 90 percent. CCRF hopes to achieve similar results in Odesa and other cities.

To help familiarize the audience with the impact of Chornobyl and CCRF's medical mission, each "Viktory for Kids" program began with a short introduction and slide show. Schoolchildren from the local towns of Simsbury and Avon read translations of a poem by Ukrainian prodigy Vika Ivchenko and the first-hand account of a young Chornobyl survivor now living in Slavutych. A hush fell over the audience as Grammy Award-winning jazz virtuoso Paul Winter performed variations on a Bach Adagio as a giant screen displayed images of Ukrainian children by Connecticut-born photographer Joseph Sywenkyj, who visited orphanages and cancer wards in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne and Kirovohrad.

Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordieva electrified the crowd with her admonition: "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. The kids in Ukraine who are still suffering as a result of this terrible accident. The kids who eagerly await Western technology and aid so that they may live a little longer and suffer a little less."

The solemnity of the opening ceremonies was broken by a children's choir from the Roaring Brook Elementary School Chorus of Avon performing "One Song," an original composition written for the occasion by choral director Carl Sauerbrunn. The Jagged Ice children's precision ice skating team then performed a special on-ice rendition of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" choreographed by the ISCC's artistic director John Thomas. Only then did the international array of stars emerge one by one to greet the audience.

The "Viktory for Kids" program was sold out on both Friday and Saturday evenings. In addition to ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, CCRF and the ISCC also raised funds through a celebrity auctions, VIP reception and program booklet.

The Cingular Wireless "Viktory for Kids" will be broadcast on the evening of Easter Sunday, April 15, on WFSB-Channel 3 immediately following "60 Minutes" through much of Southern New England.

For more information, or to support CCRF and the Viktor Petrenko Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, readers may write or make tax-deductible donations to CCRF, 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078, or call (973) 376-5140 or (203) 387-0507.

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