On March 9th, 2022, the Parkland Ukrainian Family Fund was announced, and Reit-Syd Equipment kicked things off with a $25,000 donation. Since then, the fund has been able to bring 27 families to the area.
Through donations, both monetary and in kind, the Fund and its volunteers have helped more than 70 people come to the Parkland, but the help hasn't stopped with just those families.
While the fund can't financially support every family trying to come to the Parkland from Ukraine, Fund volunteer Lindsay Rubeniuk says they're doing what they can to help people settle throughout the region.
"What we're trying to do now is provide them with some direction. You know we want people to come to our area because we want economic development to occur, so what our Fund is able to do is to try and assist them with employment, and also to try and find them housing."
Rubeniuk says the fund has helped find Ukrainian newcomers jobs in both Grandview and Roblin, as recently as this week.
Fund volunteer Tere Stykalo says while they want to support as many people as possible, they've had to dial back their commitments to new families that reach out.
"The support levels that were established at the start of the whole process were quite extensive, and the fund is not endless in its supply of financial support, so we do have to temper how the new families are going to get support, as Lindsay had said, which is going to come in the form of direction and the form of trying to assist them to get settled in a very positive and successful manner."
Stykalo says that word has spread about the generosity of the Parkland, and they continue to have people reaching out for help.
"We seem to always have knocks on the door, there are other families that want to come to this community and to the surrounding area. Word travels that they've been treated very well and they've had the opportunity to be successful here in a very short period of time."
A major part of the Family Funds' mission has been to bring in people that want to work and be a part of the community in which they're settling. Stykalo says that's already showing, and having positive results in the area.
"There's a spinoff back to the community, and we can see that happening already. When you look at employers who had voids where you didn't have anybody working, they now have some folks from Ukraine, from these families coming there, finding employment, contributing back to that employer's revenue stream."
Stykalo says it goes beyond the families filling job openings in the communities.
"They've got to go to the grocery store to buy groceries, they consume gas, and they're going to do all of their household spending here in Dauphin which creates a tremendous spinoff. You look at our schools, I believe one of the schools has had to hire more teachers, so that again provides a spinoff back to the community as these institutions also expand."
One of the initial goals of the Fund was to bring in families that want to set up roots in the Parkland, and Rubeniuk, who's an immigration consultant and has been helping the families since they arrived, says the process has already started.
"What we have now is currently five families that are in the midst of applying for immigration, and their intention is to remain in the community of Dauphin and surrounding areas."
While just five families are in the process of applying for immigration already, they aren't the only ones who have shown interest says Rubeniuk.
"These are just the first five families that are ready to go, and I've had several talks or emails from the rest of the families indicating their desire to remain in the area, and how to go about completing their application for immigration."
The fund also wants to thank the countless number of volunteers who have given their time, as well as everyone throughout the Parkland and beyond who has donated to the fund.
They are still accepting donations as they continue to try and help as many people fleeing the war in Ukraine as possible, and Stykalo says you can get a donation receipt for any financial donations to the fund.
"If anybody is considering making financial donations to the Fund, please remember and keep in mind that it is a charitable organization, so you will get a charitable donation receipt for your taxes, and also for corporations, there are some deductions available for corporations that want to make donations as well to the fund."
Stykalo and Rubeniuk say that anyone looking for more information can contact them or any of the other committee members.
You can get more information about the Fund, by calling Larry at 204-648-5904.
