Indiana Stands with Ukraine: A V e r y S p e c i a l C e l e b r i t y F u n d r a i s e r t o b e H e l d f o r U k r a i n i a n R e f u g e e s Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted
On Feb. 24, 2022, the world once again came to a standstill and watched in gaping horror as the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in a barbaric and unprovoked escalation of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. The world continues to watch as the Russian military intensifies its campaign in an attempt to annihilate the country of Ukraine — creating the largest armed conflict in Europe since WWII as well as an ongoing refugee crisis.
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or me, personally, it is an all too familiar and tragic storyline that tells the tale of my own German family members who were murdered under the direct order of a vile dictator. Having struck a deep nerve, I had a fateful conversation with Franc D’Ambrosio a few months back while he was visiting in Indiana. D’Ambrosio is known best for his long-running role as the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera and for his emotional portrayal of the opera-singing Anthony Corleone, son of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton’s characters in the Academy Award-nominated film “The Godfa-
ther III.” He performs throughout the nation and at international concerts and will be returning to Feinstein’s at Hotel Carmichael this August after an unforgettable three nights in August of 2021. I was aware that D’Ambrosio was sharing his talents and was working with Polish Dominican Friars — with whom he has a personal connection — to raise awareness and funds to provide humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian refugees crossing the Poland-Ukraine border that the friars are caring for — firsthand. The Dominican Friars have a 501(c)(3) set up, and all of the monetary donations are going right into the hands of these
friars, who are literally on the front lines offering food, shelter, medical and mental health care to Ukrainian refugees and their children.
A Call to Action D’Ambrosio and Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano have held many intimate fundraising events for the Dominican Friars at personal and other private residences in California and Pennsylvania. With this knowledge, I recruited my publishers, Neil and Lena Lucas, and a handful of locals to assist D’Ambrosio with his fundraising efforts. For
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