May 4, 2018

$750,000 grant from Ontario foundation to promote awareness of the Holodomor

More

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Yvan Baker and Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) board member Colleen Mulholland, met on April 20 with representatives from the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) to congratulate them on the work they’re going to be doing with their $750,000 Grow grant. 

The organization is continuing to build on its innovative and thoughtful program that educates young people across Ontario about the Holodomor – the Famine-Genocide carried out in 1932-1933 by the Soviet Union, resulting in the deaths of millions of Ukrainians. The term “Holodomor” is the Ukrainian word meaning “death inflicted by starvation.”

 “My grandmother was a survivor of the Holodomor. She always hoped that we would not only commemorate the victims of this genocide but that we would honor them by ensuring that we learn the lessons of the Holodomor and ensure that an atrocity like this never happens again. This grant will ensure that the Holodomor Mobile Classroom will be able to reach more students so that they can learn about the Holodomor and its lessons.” said Mr. Baker, MPP for Etobicoke Center.

Students from the Michael Power – St. Joseph High School in Etobicoke were participating that day in one of the program’s sessions. Thanks to the three-year OTF grant, thousands more young people will have the opportunity to participate in the Holodomor National Awareness Tour and visit the highly acclaimed Holodomor Mobile Classroom. The CUF approaches area teachers and school boards to offer the program in their schools and communities, and it has met with positive feedback, not only in Ontario, but other provinces as well.

The funds are being used so the foundation can continue to expand on its program that focuses on the genocide of millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s, while helping young people to find their voices to speak up for injustices. The grant is helping to cover some staffing costs, designing and developing program software and computers, creating materials for students and teachers, purchasing iPads for use in the Mobile Classroom, rental of space and travel costs.

Four classes of students from the school participated in hour-long interactive lessons inside the Holodomor Mobile Classroom, learning about the Famine-Genocide carried out in 1932-1933.

“Today’s announcement is very timely,” said Bob Onyschuk, chair of the Holodomor National Awareness Tour, “because 2018 marks the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor. This will possibly be the last milestone anniversary of the tragedy that will take place while there are still living survivors of the Holodomor. It is therefore all the more important to raise awareness now of this genocide and learn lessons from it: the need to cherish the values of multiculturalism, diversity, human rights and the respect for human dignity. We thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation for allowing us to bring this important message to more Ontarians.” 

The Holodomor National Awareness Tour is a joint project of four organizations: the Canada Ukraine Foundation (the lead on the project), the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center and the Holodomor Research and Educational Consortium. A key aspect of the tour is the Holodomor Mobile Classroom, a 40-foot customized recreational vehicle fitted with state-of-the-art learning aids to tell the story of the Holodomor.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the government of Ontario and one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities.

Comments are closed.