South Floridians hold fund-raiser for Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (07/20/03)

South Floridians hold fund-raiser for Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund

by Karen Maksymowich Wilk

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - It was an afternoon filled with hope, prayer and information, as the Coordinating Committee for the South Florida Ukrainian community presented a luncheon fund-raiser for the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund on Sunday, June 8, at the Fort Lauderdale Sheraton Hotel.

The program began with a candle-lighting ceremony in memory of those who died from Chornobyl's fallout and for the hopeful who are fighting illnesses associated with radiation. The Rev. Ivan Freishyn-Chirovsky, pastor of the Assumption-Dormition Ukrainian Catholic Church in Miami gave the invocation, followed by the parish choir under the direction of Donna Maksymowich-Waskiewicz singing a moving "Otche Nash" (Our Father).

Oksana Piaseckyj, mistress of ceremonies, introduced the first speaker, Dr. Robert Liebler, a local dentist who has been very devoted to children's causes in Ukraine. Having just returned from Kyiv, he spoke about his work there with needy children. The keynote speaker was Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky, CCRF president and chairman of the board. He gave a brief history of the fund and informed the audience about the current circumstances of medical treatment in Ukraine and the necessity to establish more clinics in all the regions of Ukraine.

Also featured as speakers were Karl Beck, director of the Peace Corps in Ukraine for the past three years. Mr. Beck interspersed his optimistic and inspiring view of Ukraine's future with humorous and telling experiences.

The final speaker, noted author Irene Zabytko, read a moving excerpt from her book "The Sky Unwashed," poignantly bringing the personal tragedies of the Chornobyl disaster to life.

The audience, made up of representatives of many Florida communities, apparently was deeply moved by the speakers and demonstrated their support and gratitude by generously donating to the CCRF fund during the appeal for donations during the dinner. Other donations came from many who were not able to enjoy the event in person.

The function continued with a lively raffle of two round-trip tickets to Kyiv generously donated by the new Ukrainian airline AeroSvit. Other prizes included a beautiful oil painting donated by the artist Ihor Korotash, dinner for two at the Old Heidelberg Restaurant and an ostrich egg pysanka.

The fund-raiser ended with a joint moleben led by the pastors of South Florida's two Ukrainian churches. The Rev. Victor Poliarny of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral - Kyiv Patriarchate and the Rev. Freishyn-Chirovsky of the Assumption-Dormition Ukrainian Catholic Church.

The coordinating committee of this event represented the Ukrainian churches, Ukrainian National Women's League of America Branch 17, the Ukrainian American Club of Miami, the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Hollywood, the Ukrainian Dancers of Miami and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. The response of the community was so heartfelt that the committee members said they hope to repeat this fund-raiser next year.

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