Story Archives / Petrenko’s “Viktory for Kids” Raises Over $100,000 for Children of Chornobyl

Sold-Out Skating Gala Draws Thousands to Connecticut Arena, Broadcast Airs Easter-Sunday

(Simsbury, CT) On the eve of the Chornobyl 15th Anniversary, Ukrainian ice-skating champion Viktor Petrenko invited his friends from the international skating community to help him raise public awareness and funds to help some of the thousands of children who are still being affected by the world's worst nuclear disaster. On March 2d and 3d, at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, Petrenko headlined an all-star cast that included American champion Brian Boitano, French sensation Philippe Candeloro and US Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen in "Viktory for Kids", a two-night benefit performance for the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRDF).

Proceeds from the sold-out event will be earmarked for the creation of the Viktor Petrenko Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Petrenko's hometown of Odessa. In an extensive interview with the Hartford Courant and USA Today, Petrenko explained his motivation for organizing this unique benefit performance for CCRDF. "I received a lot from my city to get where I am today…That's where I grew up…That's where I learned to skate…Now this is my chance to pay them back." Petrenko described the many people he had seen in Odessa who had survived Chornobyl, only to be stricken with cancer or to see their children stricken with birth defects.

Petrenko turned to his close friend Brian Boitano, who was the first to agree to skate in this charity fundraiser. Among the other skaters who also donated their time and waived their performance fees were: Swiss National Champion Lucinda Ruh, Ukrainian National Champion Viacheslav Zagorodniuk, Italian National Champion Silvia Fontana, Ukrainian daredevil acrobats Volodymyr Besedin and Alexei Polishchuk, Israeli National Champions Darya Zuravicky and Michael Shmerkin, and ice dancing champions Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev; Roman Kostomarov and Tatiana Navka; Maya Usova and Evgeny Platov; and Angelica Krylova and Oleg Ovsannikov.

With the help of Petrenko's all-star cast, the International Skating Center and the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund were able to secure sponsorships from several major corporations led by title sponsor Cingular Wireless and Environmental Systems Products (ESP) who financed widespread advertising campaigns on television, radio, and print media. The Hartford Courant and WFSB-Channel 3, Connecticut's CBS affiliate provided extensive news coverage and promotional ads for CCRDF.

Western Union Financial Services also made a major contribution in honor of Viktor Petrenko who serves as the spokesperson for the company's Eastern European campaign. Western Union marketing director Rennie Jackson presented CCRDF with a check for $9,400 for the purchase of an infant warmer for the Petrenko Neonatal Unit. Other local and national sponsors included the Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation (CNG) and Virginia-based EuroTech, a manufacturer of innovative technology to encase and safeguard nuclear waste at the Chornobyl site. Altogether, CCRDF received net proceeds of $120,000 above expenses, and more donations are still coming into the Fund's New Haven office.

CCRDF is an award-winning New Jersey-based charity that has recently completed its 27th airlift to Ukraine. Altogether, the Fund has delivered over 1,300 tons of medical and humanitarian aid valued at $46 million dollars to hospitals that specialize in the treatment of children affected by thyroid cancer, birth defects, and other illnesses believed to be linked to radiation exposure. CCRDF has established six other neonatal units similar to the one planned for Odessa. These newborn intensive care units have had a major impact on infant mortality in CCRDF's partner hospitals in Lutsk, Poltava, Chernihiv, Rivne, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv. The Ukrainian investigative journal "Fakty" has verified, for instance, that technology and training provided by CCRDF has reduced mortality in the Poltava Maternity Center by nearly 90%. CCRDF hopes to achieve similar results in Odessa and other cities.

To help familiarize the audience with the impact of Chornobyl and CCRDF's medical mission, each Viktory for Kids program began with a short introduction and slide show. Schoolchildren from the local towns of Simsbury and Avon read translations of a poem by Ukrainian prodigy Vika Ivchenko and the first-hand account of a young Chornobyl survivor now living in Slavutych. A tearful hush fell over the audience as Grammy Award-winning jazz virtuoso Paul Winter performed variations on a Bach adagio as a giant screen displayed images of Ukrainian children by Connecticut-born photographer Joseph Sywenkyj who visited orphanages and cancer wards in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne and Kirovohrad.

Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordieva electrified the crowd with her admonition: "This show is not about you or me. It's not about Viktor or any of the other great skaters donating their efforts tonight. This is about Kids. The kids in Ukraine who are still suffering as a result of this terrible accident. The kids who eagerly await Western technology and aid so that they may live a little longer and suffer a little less."

The solemnity of the opening ceremonies was broken by a children's choir from the Roaring Brook Elementary School Chorus of Avon performing "One Song", an original composition written for the occasion by choral director Carl Sauerbrunn. The Jagged Ice children's precision ice skating team then performed a special on-ice rendition of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" choreographed by the ISCC's artistic director John Thomas. Only then did the international array of stars emerge one by one to greet the audience.

The Viktory For Kids program was sold out on both Friday and Saturday evening. In addition to ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, CCRDF and the ISCC also raised funds through a celebrity auction, VIP reception and program booklet.

The Cingular Wireless Viktory for Kids will be broadcast on the evening of Easter Sunday (April 15th) on WFSB-Channel 3 immediately following 60 Minutes through much of Southern New England. For more information, or to support CCRDF and the Viktor Petrenko Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, readers are urged to write or make tax-deductible donations to CCRDF, 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078, or to call (973) 376-5140 or (203) 387-0507.