Top Stories / US Ambassador reception, October 15, 2005
AMBASSADOR HOSTS RECEPTION FOR CHILDREN OF CHORNOBYL
RKO President Paul Speaker and Ukrainian rocker Oleh Skrypka serve as Masters of Ceremonies at gala event
(KYIV) On Saturday, October 15th the Ambassador to, John E. Herbst and Mrs. Nadia Herbst hosted a special fundraising reception for the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund at their residence in the Podil District of Kyiv. Some 120 guests attended the intimate gala event that raised funds for the purchase of new equipment for the neonatal intensive care unit at the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital #2 on the city’ Left Bank .
The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Paul Speaker, the President of RKO Films who flew in from Los Angeles to show his support for the Fund. Among the other special guests attending the fundraiser were Ukraine’s leading actor of stage and screen, Bohdan Stupka and the members of Ukraine’s pioneering rock band “VV”, (“Vopli Vidopliasova”) whose popular lead singer Oleh Skrypka co-hosted the event with Mr. Speaker. Skrypka thrilled the crowd with an impromptu acoustic performance in the latter half of the program.
CCRDF’s Executive Director Alexander Kuzma opened the program by thanking the guests for their support of the Fund’s medical mission. Most of all, we want to thank you for your power of imagination, for envisioning a new where children receive the kind of health care and protection they deserve. He thanked the corporate sponsors of the evening, including Prestige Auto Ukraine, a division of Chevrolet, the Kyiv Post Charity Fund, the Andriivsky Plaza, Philip Morris, Khreshchatyk Bank, Arcada Bank, Delta Airlines, Credit Rating, Bank Forum, Perry Construction, McDonald’s, Kodak, Dolmart, Coca-Cola, American Medical Center, and International Commerce Bank.
Mr. Kuzma introduced Paul Speaker as one of the great marketing minds in Hollywood who is now exploring Eastern Europe as fertile ground for the production of a new generation of major motion pictures. In his opening remarks, Mr. Speaker shared his experiences touring the historic Dovzhenko Film Studio in Kyiv with Bohdan Stupka earlier that day has an incredibly rich culture that needs to be shared and exposed to the rest of the world,” said Mr. Speaker. I work for a company that has produced historic movies like “Citizen Kane” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” – movies that left an indelible legacy and became an integral part of American culture. They say a lot about who we are as a people.
Mr. Speaker explained why the Children of Chornobyl has become his charity of choice: “When I think of the children who benefit from the medical programs of CCRDF, I think of writers who have not yet written their first script; photographers and filmmakers who have not yet lifted a camera; designers and artists and musicians who will someday leave their mark on the culture of Ukraine and the culture of the world.
Speaker thanked Ambassador and Mrs. Herbst for opening up their home to the Fund for the second time to promote its medical programs. The Ambassador echoed and expanded on Speaker’s comments:
As an American, I am often stunned that so many Ukrainians are still unaware of so many important things about their own history. Just a few miles outside Kyiv lies the burial site of Bykovinia where tens of thousands were put to death by the Soviet secret police. We travel through vast fields that hold the remains of millions of people who starved to death during the Terror Famine of the early 1930’s.
Ambassador Herbst stated that he and his wife were pleased to host the Fund which is performing a very important role, not only in saving the lives of many children, but in helping to build a culture of philanthropy in. There are many wealthy individuals in this country, and they need to learn to give back to their society from the riches they have gained. Mr. Speaker then introduced CCRDF’s President and Chairman of the Board Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky who thanked Ambassador Herbst for his hospitality and all the guests for helping the Fund “celebrate the gift of hope”.
The evening program included a silent auction that featured the works of renowned Kyiv artist Elena Gapchinska who donated more than a dozen of her works to the CCRDF for fund raising purposes. Several of Ms. Gapchinska’s paintings have been purchased by world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti and other celebrities. Her donation to CCRDF included her “Angels” series that captures the innocence and creativity of childhood: a little girl playing with a bluebird, another watching a tabby cat drinking milk from a bowl, another folding a paper airplane, another painting. Several of the works sold for substantial sums. Other auction items included a pair of boxing gloves signed by the Klitchko brothers, and a “bayan” (an antique accordion) donated by Oleh Skrypka. To help stimulate the bidding process, Mr. Skrypka picked up the bayan and played for the audience. He officially presented the instrument to the winning bidder, Ms. Olena Koszarny on bended knee.
Another heart-warming moment came when CCRDF co-founder Nadia Matkiwsky introduced three-year-old Mariyka Tkachuk who presented a gift to Mrs. Herbst as a token of the Fund’s appreciation. Little Mariyka narrowly survived a life-threatening illness with the aid of doctors at Kyiv Children’s Hospital #2, and she became a cause celebre when she came to the United States for follow-up surgery at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary last year. Paul Speaker had hoped to introduce Mariyka’s treating physician Dr. Oleh Korneychuk who has become legendary for his pioneering work in developing a model neonatal program at Kyiv City Children’s Hospital #2. But true to form, Dr. Korneychuk was unable to attend the function as he was working late into Saturday night tending to another infant in the intensive care unit. Speaking on Dr. Korneychuk’s behalf, his colleague Dr. Olha Dziuba thanked all the sponsors and patrons for supporting CCRDF which has provided life-saving technology and invaluable material support to her hospital.
Another breakthrough announced at the fundraiser was a donation from Prestige Auto- Chevrolet. The company agreed to install at no charge a blue emergency light on Dr. Korneychuk’s ambulance to enable doctors to transport children more quickly through the streets of the capital. The value of this donation is estimated at $2,500.
At the close of the program, Alexander Kuzma thanked all the volunteers and staff who had worked so hard to make the evening such a success. He especially thanked the Event Chair, Nadia Matkiwsky, and event coordinators Olha Datsenko, Zhenia Medvedenko, Marta Stecyk, Vika Pavlotska, Olenka Welhasch-Nyzhnykevych, Ludmyla Rabij. Mrs. Matkiwsky also thanked and presented a special gift to the Ambassador’s assistant, Ms. Mary Cross who helped to coordinate arrangements between CCRDF and Embassy staff.
For more information on the programs off CCRDF,
call (973) 376-5140 in the or (044) 494-1535 in Kyiv.
E-mail messages may be sent to info@childrenofchornobyl.org
Tax-deductible donations to support the Fund’s life-saving programs may be sent to CCRDF,
272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, New Jersey 07078