Hello,

Hope you are all well during these trying times.

Many of you know that each year I organise a special evening celebrating Ukrainian food and culture. I do this to raise money to support one very special project in Ukraine. It’s a project that is very close to my heart as many years ago my best friend Tania and I founded a small theatre studio in a remote village in Transcarpathia, Ukraine. The project is still very active in the community with various projects and programmes.

Every two years this theatre group organises a Children and Youth Theatre Festival called ‘Bird’. It enables disadvantaged young people living in remote rural communities in the Ukraine to connect with the Arts and participate in enriching, meaningful activities. It’s a really positive experience and for many of them their only opportunity to personally be involved and experience different artistic pursuits. This year there will not be a festival because of spread of Covid -19.

One of the projects of the youth organisation is the newly built Sargo - Rigo Guest House/Hostel was opened in the village with the aim of providing quality accommodation for visitors and as well as creating a social, cultural and artistic space for young people. We were going to use this accommodation for our group tours, but sadly all tours have been cancelled. Following the impact of Covid19 the project is now facing desperate financial difficulty. Currently the project is unable to meet even the most basic costs to keep the building and grounds in good order as well as completing important sewerage work. The project is managed and ran by a team of community volunteers and is not receiving any financial assistance from the government during this time.

I would like to raise some funds to support the work that people are doing over there. This is a special plea to all my friends and customers to see if any of you would be willing to donate some money towards the project. It will make a big difference to young people and children over there. Those of you who have attended some of my fundraising events in the past will have seen the videos of the children taking part in dance and theatre workshops and gaining so much from the project.

I hope you don’t mind me sending this request – as I said this is a project that I care about a great deal – and you can donate safe in the knowledge that every penny is paid directly to the youth group in Ukraine.