Walk for Shoes 2006

By Olena Wawryshyn
The sunny and breezy weather could not have been more perfect in Toronto on June 10, the day of Help Us Help the Children’s (HUHTC) Walk for Shoes charity walk.  Now in its fourth year, the event raises money to purchase footwear for orphans in Ukraine.

“The event is an opportunity for the community to work together to collectively help these children.  They [participants] are not only giving their pledges, their money, they’re doing something together, walking together in solidarity with the children in Ukraine,” says Ivanka Slywynska, the co-chair of the charity walk. She, along with fellow co-chair Tamara Balan, coordinated the activities of the volunteer committee that planned and organized the event.

Participants took part in either a ten-kilometre or five-kilometre walk in the picturesque Etienne Brule Park along the Humber River. Afterwards, there was a barbeque and prizes were handed out.

Three-hundred walkers and fifty volunteers participated in this year’s Walk for Shoes and $2,500 was raised.  “We are very grateful to the community for supporting us. We were also very fortunate to have Lava match all of the pledges that we collected, so we are very grateful for the generosity of Roman Wynnyckyj (Lava Computer Manufacturing’s President and Chief Design Engineer) adds Slywynska.

The shoes will be distributed to the 500 orphans who will be attending the annual Help us Help the Children’s camps taking place from July 31-August 13 near the village of Vorokhta in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine says Slywynska.

This year, there will be four camps in total, two each for junior and senior children.  A group of Canadian volunteers will be running these camps. Among them will be Slywynska, who will be a director of one of the senior camps.

When HUHTC organizers first started holding the camps they noticed that many of the orphans did not have proper footwear. To remedy this situation, HUHTC volunteers began the annual Walk for Shoes charity walk.

 “What I like about the event is that it’s for all ages. You have children walking, adults and even some senior citizens that come to walk,” says Slywynska. “It’s a chance for children in Toronto to feel that they are helping, so I think it is important for the children,” she adds.

For more information about HUHTC, which is a project of Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund, visit their website at www.helpushelpthechildren.com or email huhtc@yahoo.com or call (416) 604-4611.