With the largest Ukrainian-American community in the country based in New York City and the oldest Ukrainian cultural institution in North America, the Ukrainian Museum and Library of Stamford, Connecticut, in our area, the devastating Russian invasion of Ukraine has hit particularly close to home.
Now is a time for action. Stamford-based Americares has sent an emergency response team to Krakow, Poland, to support health services for refugee families affected by the escalating humanitarian crisis. The team has expertise in coordinating large-scale shipments of medicine and relief supplies and mobilizing emergency medical teams in critical situations.
“We’re focused on meeting the health needs of families caught in the violence and those fleeing Ukraine,” said Kate Dischino, Americares’ vice president of emergency programs. “There’s an urgent need for medicine and medical supplies as well as basic relief items to protect health. At the same time, Ukraine is battling rapidly rising Covid-19 infections and a polio outbreak. It’s a humanitarian crisis with immense health needs and we’re ready to help.”
Donations to Americares Ukraine Crisis Fund will support its response to the emergency. To donate, visit americares.org/ukraine.
On Wednesday, March 16, Goosefeather, the modern-Cantonese restaurant in Tarrytown, will be donating 25% of all sales to World Central Kitchen. Chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen team are on the ground in Ukraine and Poland, serving thousands of fresh meals to Ukrainian families fleeing home as well as those who remain in the country, via their #ChefsforUkraine mission.
For more, visit goosefeatherny.com.
Aquila’s Nest Vineyards in Newtown, Connecticut, is partnering with women-owned small businesses in the Nutmeg State to host two different fundraisers to support Ukrainian relief efforts.
On Sunday, March 20 at noon, artist Anne Kearns Fers of Annie’s Art Party will present a painted wine bottle workshop, Sunflowers for Ukraine, in which participants will learn how to paint a sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine, on a blue wine bottle. (The sunflower has particular significance for us as well as it is native to the Americas.) The workshop cost is $40 per person and includes all materials and instruction. In a show of solidarity, other women-owned small businesses — including Melinda Prince’s Candle Delights by Brigita & Mel, which created Candles for Peace; and Jen Hinkle’s Twinkles Cookies – along with author Anne Kearns (“Poems From The Heart”) are rallying together in support of Ukraine by donating 50% of their proceeds to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
On Wednesday, March 23, get up, get down and swing out as Aquila’s Nest Vineyards, in partnership with Art In Motion, hosts Dance & Wine Night, with instructor Kristen Prall. The class is $13 per person for all ages and skill levels, with 100% of the dance fee proceeds donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross. Prall, a ballroom and Latin dance champion, choreographer and owner of Art In Motion, will provide a maximum of 45 minutes of instruction starting at 6 p.m.
At each fundraising event, Aquila’s Nest Vineyards will be offering a selection of wines for purchase, with 50% of the proceeds donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross. The winery is co-owned by an Albanian immigrant couple, Neviana Zhgaba and Ardian Llomi. “Ukraine needs support more than ever, and we needed to come up with a meaningful way to support them,” Zhgaba said. “Our hearts go out to those affected,” added Llomi.
For more, visit aquilasnestvineyards.com/book-online.
Meanwhile, a Broadway review cast, directed and choreographed by Ursuline School students in New Rochelle, has raised more than $2,000 for charitable causes, including children affected by the war in Ukraine. The fourth annual Ursuline Charity Cabaret is part of a school tradition that has raised thousands of dollars each year for a charitable cause. The benefit split the proceeds between Sanctuary for Families, an organization that helps victims of domestic violence; and Voices of Children, a Ukrainian nonprofit that supports children affected by the war.
