Vancouver Island Supports Ukraine

Transforming Lives with Vancouver Island Supports Ukraine

Vancouver Island Supports Ukraine (VISU) is pleased to announce that our own SD62’s PACE Academy is holding a benefit variety show on Saturday November 2nd featuring Ken Lavigne, Calum Worthy, the Ukrainian Veselka Dancers, and over 100 of our PACE students singing in both English and Ukrainian. All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to VISU for projects relating to their upcoming deployment to Ukraine.

VISU volunteers are scheduled to return to Ukraine in early February in what will be their fourth trip, providing additional humanitarian support in the form of another school bus, educational and technical training aids, diesel generators to powerup schools / bomb shelters, and medical equipment. The team will also be visiting the Kamin-Kashyrskyi Regional Children’s Hospital, to tour the newly established Breast Milk Bank Centre serving a population of over 600,000. This project which includes the purchase of a milk pasteurizer, analyzer, and fridges and coolers was made possible by local Vancouver Island donors.

If you are interested in attending this amazing show, simply scan the QR code on the attached poster and it will take you directly to the Eventbrite.ca website to purchase tickets. If you are unable to attend the performance but would like to make a donation you can scan the other QR code which will take you to our website at www.vancouverislandsupportsukraine.ca

Ukraine Breast Milk Bank Desperately needed!

UPDATE: $50,000 was sent to Ukraine to support this project. Thank you for your support of the Westshore Charity Golf Tournament in June, and for all who donated via the GO FundME page.

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A team of local individuals, led by retired Langford Fire Chief and humanitarian Bob Beckett, are working together to raise funds to purchase medical equipment to create a desperately needed Breast Milk Bank for the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children's Hospital in Ukraine.

The past two years of this horrific war in Ukraine has resulted in a tenfold increase in the number of trauma related premature babies being born in Ukraine with the resulting difficulty in mothers being able to produce sufficient breast milk for their babies.

The equipment that these funds will purchase include:

Human Milk Analyzer,
Pasteurizer
Medical Freezer
Pharmaceutical Refrigerator.

A “Go Fund Me” page has been set up with a project goal of $50,000. Please select the Donate Now button above or link here. For more information regarding the project please contact:

Bruce Brown 250-888-7062 bmbis@shaw.ca
Bob Beckett 250-818-2791 bob.beckett@outlook.com

School to Shkola, Keeping THE Lights On

Mayor Kevin Murdoch (District of Oak Bay) and Principal Shawn Boulding (Oak Bay High) are working to support two Ukrainian High Schools facing regular power outages due to the ongoing Russian invasion and attacks on civilian infrastructure.

The Goal: The Mayor and Principal are calling on Oak Bay High families and all those who understand the importance of education to help fundraise $20,000 needed to buy two generators for two high schools in Ukraine. This funding will go directly to the purchase and installation in Ukraine. The generators will allow power to continue through the school day, and help high school students in Ukraine get the education they need and deserve.

Background: This fundraiser will align with a larger aid package, the third put together by Westshore community groups to bring medical equipment and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In a previous trip, Bob Beckett (former Langford Fire Chief) developed a connection with Mayor Pas from Kamin Kashyrsk, a Ukrainian town near the Belarus border. Mayor Pas formally requested assistance to procure two diesel generators to keep children in school doing the constant roaming power outages. Oak Bay is looking to support that community in their time of need. The money will be used to purchase the generators in Ukraine or in Poland and install them at the two high schools.

To Donate: The Principal and Mayor are asking the Oak Bay and broader community to donate to the “School to Shkola Keeping Lights On” initiative.

About Vancouver Island Supports Ukraine

Our Mission

On our first deployment to Ukraine in June 2022, we partnered with GlobalMedic Canada to provide food and meals for over 81,000 internally displaced Ukrainians. Over $400,000 was raised locally for this endeavour.

In February 2023, we focused on providing medical equipment to area hospitals, educational school supplies, and fire rescue equipment.

In November 2023 the team continued to build on relationships with doctors, teachers families and students to:

Deliver 14 pallets of supplies and equipment to hospitals
Distribute 50K of medical supplies to hospitals
Provide laptops to hospitals to access centralized medical information and enhanced patient data
Provide 2 Diesel generators for high schools experiencing regular power interruption and outages
Deliver "comfort" backpacks to temporary shelter location for women and children
Provide a school bus to transport children to school from schools with no bomb shelter so they can attend school
provide 500 notebooks to children who cannot attend school and must attend school remotely
Meet 4 students to be hosted by SD62 international program & Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre Spring 2024

Our History

A group of Greater Victoria volunteers began working together following the attack on the world trade center. Responding to international natural and man made disasters around the world in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Belize, Mexico, Haiti, New Orleans, and currently Ukraine. The team is lead by former Langford Fire Chief Bob Beckett.

Our Team

The team is comprised of dedicated individuals in our community who are passionate about making a difference. The team is supported by:

GlobalMedic,
WUNDERfund Canada,
Ukraine Medicine in Action,
Ukraine Medical Support
Victoria Hand Project
Hope Foundation