Support Ukraine fundraisers have been hosted and will continue to take place in the Newburyport Community and throughout many North Shore cities and towns. It is uplifting to see the positive response and participation with hope that the combined efforts will help make a difference for the Ukrainian people. Many of these initiatives began as simple ideas and spiraled into incredibly successful campaigns due to the tremendous response from individuals, small business owners, student groups and local nonprofit organizations.

Newburyport.com helps increase awareness for our local nonprofit and small business customers, many of which have recently organized or contributed to local Ukraine fundraisers. This article is meant to promote awareness of upcoming efforts and it summarizes some of the recent local happenings with links to the the organizations providing direct humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian people. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and we encourage folks to visit Ipswich this upcoming weekend to take part in the Stand Strong with Ukraine efforts.

Upcoming Local Support Ukraine Efforts:

• Join Ipswich residents of Ukraine heritage, local ministers, state representatives, select board members, musicians and citizens of the North Shore community for an inspirational, Stand with Ukraine Event and Fundraiser, Sunday, May 22nd from 11:45 am – 3:30 pm, in Ipswich. Organized by Ipswich Citizens in Partnership With the People of Ukraine, this is a grass roots effort that provides support directly to people in the Ukraine. View the schedule of events below and scroll down to watch a video of event organizer, Ipswich business owner and Ukraine native, Tanya Marshall, from her participation in Newburyport candlelight vigil. For more information in this event, you can also visit the facebook page.
  • Program:
    • 11;45 Gather on Town Hill to join in an ecumenical prayer for peace led by Reverend Brad Clark, Ascension Memorial Church, and fellow Ipswich ministers;
    • Walk for Peace down Market Street, through the Pavilion terrace by the River;
    • 12;15 pm Rally at the Hall-Haskell House for LIVE STREAM with friends and families in Ukraine, and further a series of offerings designed to generate deeper and renewed care and compassion for the people of Ukraine in the struggle to retain their freedom, including:
    • A special live video link with friends in Ukraine Kyiv, Konotop, Dnipro
    • Tanya Marshall (Ipswich resident, born in Ukraine)
    • State Senator Bruce Tarr , 
    • State Representative Jamie Belsito 
    • Ipswich Select board members
    • Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England 
    • Music by Steve Kercher “ I need Ammunition Not a Ride” 
    • Traditional Ukrainian food and songs

Past & Ongoing Support Ukraine Efforts:

• The, We Stand With Ukraine Musical Benefit, was held on Saturday, April 9th from from 7-10 pm, at Belleville Congregational Church. Tickets were $30 per person, available for purchase at the door and proceeds were donated to the World Central Kitchen. Doors open at 6 pm and cash is appreciated as it will enable quicker entrance into the concert, but Venmo and Square are also available. The concert will featured musical performances by: James Paone, Marjorie Senet and the Broken Home Boys, Liz Frame and the Kickers, Way Up South.

Ganesh Imports Newburyport, Portsmouth & Exeter helped encourage folks to make donations in support of The World Kitchen by generously matching donations up to $5,000 during the week of March 7th – 13th. Salesforce Cares also made a matching donation for a total contribution of $14,821.12. Thank you Bill Bixby, Owner of Newburyport and Portsmouth and Kristin Poulin, Owner of Exeter. Thank you to Bill and Kristin, long term retailers in the community known for their ongoing support for many important nonprofit efforts. Featured picture taken by Henry VanderSpek Photo Art.

• A Newburyport Candlelight Vigil was held on March 23rd in Market Square. The Vigil was organized by Alissa Christie of Bentley’s Real Estate offering an opportunity to reflect and or pray as a collective effort to show support. The Vigil was attended by a special guest, Tatyana Marshall, an Ipswich resident and small business owner of Twins Chic. Tanya, originally from the Ukraine has lived in Ipswich for the past 15 years and is working hard to raise money for her, Stand with Ukraine Fund, a grass roots effort , designed to help get support to family and friends in need of food and medical attention. We encourage folks to follow Tanya’s mission on facebook. Tanya communicates daily with family, friends and volunteer workers in Ukraine and she works tirelessly every day to spread awareness at events throughout the North Shore community.

• NHS Honor Society Bake Sale with Poetry, Music & Art in support of UNICEF was hosted on March 26th at Newburyport High School. The bake sale raised a total of $2,050.00.

• On March 27th the Firehouse Center for the Arts, Theater in the Open & The Newburyport Arts Collective hosted An Evening of Theater and Poetry to Benefit Ukraine as part of a global initiative called the ‘Worldwide Readings Project’ in which close to 150 theater companies around the world have staged readings of Ukrainian texts to raise money for the military, humanitarian aid and relief efforts. The event raised $3,500.00 which was donated directly to Razom for Ukraine, a charitable organization delivering humanitarian aid. For anyone who wasn’t able to attend the fundraiser but would like to make a donation, they are encouraged to contribute through Nova Kahovka for Life, run by Plum Island resident Nadiia Sadowski.

We will continue to post information about upcoming support Ukraine fundraisers and or opportunities to get involved in other ways as well.