Michael
Szubelak
June
14 2003 – It was 7 o’clock on a Saturday morning. The city of Toronto was
still asleep, except for the few morning birds jogging up and down the
paths lining the Humber River. But if you looked closer on that particular
Saturday morning, you would have also witnessed a group of people clad
in blue running around, busying themselves and looking unusually awake.
These people were volunteers helping set up the first ever Help Us Help
the Children Walk for Shoes. Many of these volunteers had been on site,
in Etienne Brule Park, since 5:30 that morning, but rest assured that each
one of them was full of enthusiasm and an eagerness to assist in what is
to become an annual charity event.
As
the sun began to rise through the sky, groups of people slowly started
to arrive with registration forms in hand. Soon enough, an entire throng
of walkers, young and not-as-young alike, were waiting keenly to begin
their 5KM walk to raise funds to buy shoes for orphan children in Ukraine.
But before any walking took place, three men, wearing traditional Ukrainian
dancing attire, led the participants in a Kozak-style warm up.
Finally,
10:30 AM – the time to start the walk approached. Everyone swarmed around
the starting line and listened as the countdown began. 3…2…1, and they
were off! The restless atmosphere suddenly eased to laughter and chatter
as the participants started on their way to bring warmth to the little
feet of children.
“The
event turned out much better than I had hoped,” said the chair of the Walk
for Shoes committee, Ivanka Slywynska “I didn’t expect the energy and the
enthusiasm which quickly spread through the crowd.” The crowd of around
300 people, as well as about 60 volunteers, endured the sun’s rays knowing
that their sweat was actually making a difference in children’s lives.
“Among the participants, volunteers and sponsors there was a unified feeling
that together, we were achieving a common goal,” said Slywynska, “This
is a great event to spread the word of HUHTC to the Ukrainian community
and to other residents in Toronto.”
Help
Us Help the Children, an affiliate of Children of Chernobyl Canadian Fund,
is a non-profit, volunteer-based charity organization dedicated to “improving
the quality of life for children living in orphanages in Ukraine.” Its
mission “centres on providing immediate aid to those most vulnerable in
Ukraine.”
As
the last pairs of feet crossed the finish line, and the walk came to an
end, everyone had a chance to sign a “Best Regards from Canada” poster
that would be sent to Ukraine. Prizes were also handed out to participants
who particularly stood out. The Kobylansky family raised the most money
from all other families, while Olya Howera raised over $2000. A group of
U of T Engineering students called the “Enginerds” won the prize for the
largest team. The prize for Best Costumes went to teams ZMBC and Vesnivka.
Michael Szubelak is a New Pathway summer
intern.