Oak Bay’s Mayor Kevin Murdoch has joined forces with Shawn Boulding, principal at Oak Bay High School to raise money for Ukrainian schools.
The two schools they are fundraising for face regular power outages due to the ongoing Russian invasion.
So Murdoch and Boulding are now calling on families whose kids attend Oak Bay High and all those who value education to donate as they hope to pull together $20,000 to donate to the two schools.
The money raised would provide the schools with generators to maintain power and allow the children in attendance to have a slightly more normal day-to-day school routine.
“We live in a community blessed with peace, financial stability, and trustworthy infrastructure where we don’t have to worry about things as simple as power and heat on a daily basis,” said Mayor Murdoch.
“This is a chance to help youth in need, many of whom have had their families torn apart by the horrific war.”
“Russia continues to attack civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine, causing rolling blackouts and the need for localized backup systems, and it’s good to know that we can make a tangible difference in keeping two schools running,” he added.
Earlier this year, the former Langford fire chief visited Kamin Kashyrsk, a Ukrainian town near the Belarus border and developed a connection with their mayor.
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It was then that the mayor requested if we were to help, we should donate large diesel generators to keep schools functional for the benefit of Ukrainian educators and the children they teach.
“This is an opportunity for our school community, parents, educators, and everyone in the region who understands the importance of education to contribute,” said Boulding.
“This will support youth, just like our youth, but growing up in a time and place of trauma and disruption. I would like to thank residents from across the region ahead of time for their support.”
With these generators, they will also be able to heat their schools to allow for warming stations with winter looming over them and several without power or heat in their homes.
A GoFundMe page has been established for this initiative which, as of this publication, has raised $4,450 of its $20,000 goal.
