The Potton Valley Church in Mansonville is organizing a fundraiser to support the Red Cross\u2019 relief efforts in the Ukraine for Saturday, April 9 from 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Church is asking for a minimum donation of $10 for poutine, $15 for poutine, and $20 for m\u00e9choui dinner all prepared by Jason and Lynn Bedard.<\/p>\n
Anne Stairs, member of the Potton Valley Church, said that most people are living with a sense of helplessness as they watch events unfold in the Ukraine. After taking notice of what the Red Cross was doing on the ground to provide relief, she put forward the idea to support the group\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kept seeing them on news bits so we thought well, let\u2019s do a fundraiser,\u201d said Stairs. \u201cAnd we are lucky that in our congregation we have a family that does m\u00e9choui all the time and they are well known in the area so it wasn\u2019t super hard for us to organize.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having lived in the Eastern Townships for many years, Stairs mentioned that there is a large Ukrainian and Polish population in the region and that the war in the Ukraine is a global cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from that, you know, we\u2019ve all been impacted by the pandemic and fighting that and it just seemed unbelievable that a real war would break out,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we just all feel for the issues of freedom, democracy, and safety that these people are experiencing and we just wanted to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Potton Valley Church hopes to raise a good amount of funds to support immigrants who may have crossed the border and citizens who remain in the Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at a city like Mariupol, it\u2019s being so bombed out they have no food, they have no services, they have no medical care, so we\u2019re hoping that it can provide relief in any of these situations,\u201d explained Stairs.<\/p>\n
The church is prepared to serve 500 meals for the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe church is covering the costs of all the food so anything that is ticket sales and any donations on top of that will go directly to the Red Cross,\u201d noted Stairs. \u201cWe are going to have a representative from the Red Cross there that evening and we will just count the money, write a cheque, and again they will take the money immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fundraiser will be a take-out style event. Tickets can be purchased at the door and those with mobility issues can be served at their car.<\/p>\n