GRASSLAND — It was a night to celebrate being alive and to help those whose lives have been torn apart by the war in Ukraine.
The communities of Atmore, Grassland, and Prosvita organized and made enough traditional Ukrainian food to feed over 350 people and raised thousands to donate to the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation for humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to help evacuees arriving in Alberta.
Organizers Jennie Heatherington and Wanda Mellott thanked the students at the Grassland School who did a bottle drive and bake sale as well as several local families and businesses who helped cover the cost of the entertainment and donated items to the silent and live auctions and more.
“We would like to give a special thank you to a few of the babas for sharing their wisdom and recipes,” Heatherington said. “We would like to present you each with a centre piece: Nellie Cholach, Olga Sworin, Anne Fleming, Jeanie Plamondon, Olga Semashkewich, Kay Tostyniuk, Minnie Skiba, (and) Olga Fleming.”
And it was a meal filled with traditional Ukrainian foods, from holubtsi (cabbage rolls), nalysnyky (crepes), kolach (a type of bread), pyrizhky (stuffed buns), studenetz (head cheese) to perogies.
Athabasca County Coun. Kelly Chamzuk also stood up and gave a few remarks before introducing Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken.
“The intention of this event is full of compassion, empathy, and that humbles my very soul,” said Chamzuk.
van Dijken reflected on his own father’s journey from being a teenager in the Netherlands during the Second World War to Canada.
“We all have to work hard to ensure that message continues to be brought down to the next generation, so that they can truly understand what we have here as a blessing in this country,” he said.
Then former Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach addressed the crowd.
“The size of the humanitarian aid is difficult to describe. I don't think you can put a dollar figure on it because if you look at some of the towns and villages, there isn't a building standing, there's no hospital, there's no school, there's no water infrastructure,” said Stelmach.
“But when you add to that, at least 200,000 orphans, thousands – and will be thousands – of former soldiers and civilians that are missing limbs. Just the fact that putting all the prosthesis together for individuals to help improve their life, when they come back from the front. So, it's a huge task.”
Stelmach told the Athabasca Advocate the event was one of the largest he has attended, and it felt like old times when communities looked out for each other.
“This really is one of the largest crowds I've witnessed on our travels through Alberta for various fundraisers, breakfasts,” he said. “And I see people came from different parts of the community; very generous and just the volunteer effort was outstanding. It speaks a lot for Albertans and their will, their generosity to help those in need. And they're all aware that this isn't going to come to an end over the next few days, it's going to be years, and that we're in it for the long haul.”
van Dijken agreed, praising the community for supporting both the event organizers and the people of Ukraine.
“It shows the spirit of the community that we live in, and how they can come together on a cause that they can all get behind in working towards the common good,” he said. “It's rewarding to be here to get a little bit of a sense of the heart of the people through the efforts that they're doing here.”
The final total raised was unavailable before press time.
