OTTAWA COMMUNITY RAISES $2000 FOR CRIMEAN REFUGEES
OTTAWA, June 16th, 2014 – Euromaidan Ottawa held a successful fundraising event last week that raised more than $2000 to help internally displaced persons from Crimea resettle in other parts of Ukraine. The “Putin-propaganda-myth-busting trivia night”, held at The Three Brewers Restaurant and Microbrewery on Bank Street, was mobilized by Euromaidan Ottawa – a solidarity organization with the Ukrainian democracy movement – in partnership with the Ukrainian Canadian Professionals and Business Association, St. Matthew the Apostle Anglican Church, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Proceeds are being donated to KrymSOS (Crimea SOS), a charity registered in Ukraine, working to provide housing, social and legal assistance to internally refugee Crimeans who have fled the Russian military occupation zone in southern Ukraine.
Several members of Parliament attended the event, as did senior representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy to Canada, and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
“We were touched by the responsiveness we saw from the community,” said Anton Sestritsyn, a Crimean Ukrainian studying in Ottawa, and a member of Euromaidan Ottawa. “It is truly heartbreaking to hear the stories from home about people’s lives uprooted or destroyed by the Russian Federation’s military aggression and occupation of the place I grew up. By engaging supporters here, and by partnering with a credible charity on the ground in Ukraine, hopefully we’ll be able to provide at least some comfort to some of the families who have fled the Russian tanks.”
Euromaidan Ottawa also extended its gratitude to the sponsors of Tuesday’s event, including Buduchnist Credit Union, Buduchnist Foundation, Ukrainian Credit Union and Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association of Ottawa.
