October 19, 2008
The Ukrainian Weekly

Ukrainian Catholic University holds its first fund-raiser in Ukraine

Education in the country, Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) hosted its first fund-raising banquet in Ukraine on October 11, raising more than $100,000.

Among those in attendance were First Lady of Ukraine Kateryna Yushchenko, Patriarch Lubomyr Husar, UCU Rector Borys Guziak, Lay Pontifical Council Secretary Josef Clemens, Papal Nuncio to Ukraine Ivan Jurkovic, Kraft Foods Vice-President George Logush and venture capital entrepreneur Natalie Jaresko.

UCU "is renewing the best traditions of moral, spiritual and patriotic upbringing in Ukraine and is offering the possibility to gain a quality, contemporary and versatile education," said Ms. Yushchenko, who mingled with attendees for the banquet's duration. "Our event today is not simply charity. It is investment in the future," she added.

About 220 UCU supporters in Kyiv attended the fund-raising banquet, more than filling the hall at the luxurious Hyatt Regency, situated between St. Michael and St. Sophia Squares in the heart of Kyiv on Volodymyrskyi Passage (Proyizd).

The event raised funds from ticket sales and donations, as well as new sources not employed in the UCU's U.S. fund-raisers, such as corporate sponsors and a silent auction, said John Kurey, chair of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation that handles fund-raising for UCU.

The Coca-Cola Co., the Squire, Sanders & Dempsey law firm, the PZU Ukrayina insurance company, the IMTC-MEI project management firm and the Kyiv-based DomX real estate firm were the event's corporate sponsors.

Kraft Foods provided the banquet gift, while Kyiv-based ITT Investment Group donated the wine.

Just as UCU had doubts about its ability to raise funds in the U.S. before its first 2004 fund-raising banquet, Mr. Kurey said leadership was also skeptical about the success of the first such event in Ukraine.

This event answered all our doubts. No one thought it could be done, and people were worried beforehand. It was an unqualified success. And it offers a platform for further UCU fund-raising in not only Kyiv, but Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk. - Mr. Kurey

News about the event's success spread quickly, and a Lviv government official has already contacted the Rev. Dr. Gudziak and suggested holding an event in Lviv, he said.

No other higher education institution in Ukraine has ever attempted such a fund-raiser, largely because most universities are state-financed, and the banquet was a pivotal event in the history of education in Ukraine, Mr. Kurey said.

"It won't be just the model for UCU, but [National University of] Kyiv Mohyla Academy and [National University of[ Ostroh Academy are going to look closely at our event and say, "We can do it too,"" he said. "We proved that people are willing to support excellence in education."

Among the event's highlights was an inspiring performance of opera singer Oleksander Hurets, who agreed to step in the night before the banquet after Ukrainian opera star Volodymyr Hryshko withdrew unexpectedly because of illness, said Dzvinka Kryshtalowych, the event's executive committee chair.

Confounded by audio technical difficulties early in his performance, Mr. Hurets put aside the microphone and passionately sang the remaining Ukrainian and Italian pieces of his set by drawing from the depths of his voice, drawing a standing ovation from the dazzled audience.

About 40 of the nearly 50 donated auction prizes were sold, Ms. Kryshtalowych said.

Items drawing the highest bids were an Anatolii Kryvolap oil painting purchased by Liudmyla Rabij for $5,100, and a second Kryvolap painting purchased "for more than $5,000," Ms. Kryshtalowych said, declining to reveal the purchaser.

A national atlas of Ukraine autographed by President Viktor Yushchenko sold for $1,550 to Valerii Hlynianchuk, and Anatolii Naumenko bought a presidential gift basket, featuring honey and candles produced from Mr. Yushchenko's apiary, for $800.

Ms. Yushchenko bought belts designed by Roksolana Bohutska and Mr. Kryvolap autographed prints from the auction.

Among the biggest donations was a $20,000 gift from Vitalii Antonov, a Stryi native and mega-millionaire who controls gas stations nationwide, and $10,000 donations each offered by Lviv State Oblast Administration Chair Myroslav Senyk, former Naftohaz executive Oleh Bakhmatiuk and Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, founder of the International Management Institute in Kyiv.

The presence of Bishop Clemens, who was visiting the Apostolic Nunciature in Kyiv at the time, was a special blessing, Mr. Kurey said, noting that he served as Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary for nearly 20 years. "I would not be surprised if the pope himself knew of this event already," Mr. Kurey said.

Ms. Kryshtalowych, an American lawyer who founded the Kyiv office of Squires, Sanders & Dempsey in 1992, coordinated the event, doing "an unbelievable job leading the committee and rallying UCU," Mr. Kurey said.

We didn't think we could raise that much. Now we believe. It was groundbreaking.

©The Ukrainian Weekly