COVER STORY

When I read that Ukraine had been invaded by Russia on February 24, 2022, my predominate emotions were anger, fear, and frustration. Angry that a sovereign nation could be invaded in 2022. Fearful that the war would be devastating to the people of Ukraine; and frustrated because I didn’t know what to do to help.

When my phone rang a week later, I immediately cancelled the call. I was comforting our little guy who was recovering from Covid and the number was from a U.S. area code so I dismissed it as a spam call. Then it called me again. I cancelled it. And then I got a text message.

The text read:

“Roger, it’s Andrei, please contact me if you can.”

Andrei is my only Ukrainian friend. He owns a cafe in Alderwood. In fact, we’re members of the same Masonic Lodge in Mimico. I had been thinking about him and his wife, Iryna, since the war started and was wondering how they were doing. I hadn’t spoken to either of them in at least two years. But they were on my mind.

My phone rang again. This time I answered it.

It was Andrei, but he sounded different. I don’t want to say desperate, but rather in despair. I could tell by the sound of his voice that the situation over there was bad. When he asked me if I could help reach out to the Masonic community and anyone else I knew to collect aid items to help with the war effort, I jumped at the opportunity.

We parted ways on the phone and I messaged Iryna to see how exactly I could help.

She furnished me with a list of critically-needed items that the Ukrainian Community in Toronto was working to collect to help their embattled homeland.

Reading the list inspired me to start making phone calls and sending emails and text messages to friends, clients and colleagues to spread the word and start collecting donations.

The first person I reached out to was Mike Muzzin. Mike and I are friends and customers of one another. He’s a South Etobicoke resident and President of ITEX Barter Canada, of which I am a member. I had seen how Mike had been successful with previous fundraising and donation campaigns among the ITEX membership in Canada and the US. I thought that we could do something similar in an effort to send as many items off the list that Iryna gave me and get them over to Ukraine as quickly as possible.

Mike not only collected items from ITEX members (16 pallets worth at the time of publishing), but he donated of his own accord and even delivered items to help Iryna; a working mother of three who’s also studying for a Masters degree and coordinating donation efforts all the while.

Mike and I have been in constant contact ever since and he’s been instrumental in this effort to help the people of Ukraine. Thank you, Mike. You have a big heart, my friend.

My next series of emails and phone calls was to local politicians I know from my work as a magazine publisher and podcast producer.

James Maloney, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore and Jennifer Hartley, his Chief of Staff, were more than accommodating in my request to share the list of critically-needed items to constituency members. As was Mark Grimes, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 3 EtobicokeLakeshore. Mark and his Chief of Staff, Kim Edgar, wasted no time in publishing the list on their weekly eNews publication that’s distributed to thousands of residents in South Etobicoke. Kam Saran and Cecilia Santos from Office146, a community coworking space in Alderwood, agreed to act as a drop-off location for donations. David Armstrong, a local businessman, Alderwood resident, and Secretary of Superior Masonic Lodge No. 501 in Mimico also deserves thanks for spreading the word to Masons across Ontario. So far, we’ve filled an office with donations from the wonderful people of Etobicoke-Lakeshore.

If you’re thinking of making a financial donation to help the people of Ukraine, please consider donating to Mriya Aid; an all-volunteer emergency response effort.

www.mriyaaid.org

Read the rest of this story at www.supportlocalmagazine.com

By: Roger Tumminieri