Pasta for Peace: Church hosting fundraiser for Ukrainian relief efforts
Courtesy of Serhiy Vdovichenko
Serhiy Vdovichenko, right, with his sister and brother-in-law in Lviv, Ukraine, in June, after the three dropped off combat first-aid kits for Ukrainian soldiers fighting against the Russian military.
Courtesy of Serhiy Vdovichenko
Serhiy Vdovichenko raises the Ukrainian flag during a humanitarian trip to Lviv, Ukraine, in June. Vdovichenko, of Monongahela, was born in Crimea and raised in Kherson, which is now under Russian occupation. Fourth Presbyterian Church in Washington is hosting a Pasta for Peace fundraising dinner Sept. 10.
Courtesy of Serhiy Vdovichenko
Serhiy Vdovichenko, second from left, of Monongahela, poses with his family during a family visit from their home in Kherson, Ukraine. From left are Vdovichenko’s mother, holding his daughter Anya; Vdovichenko; Vdovichenko’s brother-in-law, holding Vdovichenko’s daughter, Sofia; and Vdovichenko’s sister, holding his daughter, Vika. The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Washington is holding a spaghetti dinner on Sept. 10 to raise funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
As the Russian war against Ukraine approaches its six month, the congregation of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Washington has watched in horror and dismay as Ukrainians are killed and injured amid daily shelling, bombing, and shooting.
The church is hosting “Pasta For Peace, a fundraising dinner that will be held Saturday, Sept. 10, from 4 to 7 p.m., to help humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine and to support Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who continue to fight against the Russian military troops who invaded the country in February.
Proceeds from the pasta dinner will be donated to Ukrainian-born Serhiy Vdovichenko, an IT designer who lives in Monongahela, and his wife, Dr. Susan Vdovichenko, a professor of Russian studies at Washington & Jefferson College, who are raising money for organizations that are making an impact in Ukraine.
Vdovichenko’s mother, stepfather, and grandmother remain trapped in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, where Russians have planted land mines and have cut off cellphone service.
His sister and her husband, a minister, fled their home in Kharkiv days after the war broke out, and are in Poland, where they are aiding humanitarian efforts to get supplies to those who need them most in Ukraine.
“Kherson is in a terrible situation. It’s not livable. Because of the Russian occupiers, it’s incredibly difficult to get supplies through,” said Dr. Vdovichenko. “A lot of elderly and disabled people in these regions, including my in-laws, can’t evacuate. There’s no way out right now.”
Fourth Presbyterian Church is asking people to help Ukraine by purchasing tickets to the dinner and by donating food supplies and raffle baskets or items that will be raffled off at the pasta event.
Dinner will include spaghetti and meatballs, salad, dinner rolls, and desserts. Coffee, tea and water are included. Pop will be available for purchase.
Ticket donations are $15 for those 11 and older, and $5 for those 10 and under.
The church family center will host three dinner seatings for Pasta for Peace, each holding about 80 guests: 4 to 5 p.m., 5 to 6 p.m., and 6 to 7 p.m. Take-out meals also are available.
Reservations for take-out dinners should be made by Sept. 8. Tickets for eat-in dinners are on sale now, and any unsold tickets will be be available at the door.
Anyone interested in making food donations should contact the church by Aug. 13. Raffle basket donations are due Sept. 1.
“We were sitting back and watching the atrocities on TV and decided that instead of feeling helpless, we would do something to help make a difference,” said Sandy Sabot, chairperson for the pasta dinner. “This is a totally senseless war. Nobody wants to see Russia come in and take over an independent European country. Russia is arbitrarily bombing and killing innocent people for no reason. We wanted to help in some way.”
The Vdovichenkos will attend Pasta for Peace to talk about what’s happening in Ukraine and to share other ways people can get involved to help Ukrainians.
The Vdovichenkos have raised about $35,000 to support Ukrainians since the war began.
They started by funding the purchase of combat first-aid kits for soldiers on the battlefields. The kits contain tourniquets, splints, gauze, and other medical supplies.
“Not having a first-aid kit can and does mean the difference between survival and death,” said Dr. Vdovichenko, noting that kits have gone to friends of the couple who now are fighting.
At the end of May, Serhiy traveled to Poland and drove to Lviv to deliver about 100 medical combat kits. The couple has mailed several deliveries to his sister since then.
Additionally, the Vdovichenkos have sent bullet-proof vests and protective armor.
The funds they raise also have been used to support the work of Union of Help to Kherson, an organization that is working to get medicine and food to families, including the Vdovichenkos’ family.
“They are literally risking life and limb to help those who are most in need,” said Dr. Vdovichenko.
The Vdovichenkos also are supporting RPCV Alliance for Ukraine, a nonprofit organized by former Peace Corps volunteers that matches U.S. families willing to open their homes to Ukrainians who are fleeing Ukraine, and Ed’s Friends, launched by Edward Ma, a former Peace Corps volunteer and friend of the couple who, along with a network of Ukrainian friends, has delivered generators, purchased an ambulance and drones, secured and delivered surgical supplies, and more.
Dr. Vdovichenko admits she’s always been uncomfortable with asking for donations, “but my embarrassment and awkwardness is meaningless in the face of such overwhelming need,” she said.
And, she said, U.S. and international support and donations – large and small – are making a difference in the war.
“It seems like, what can $20 do, but in the aggregate it can do a lot. Nationwide, it’s making an enormous difference in the war,” said Dr. Vdovichenko. “Ukrainians are standing up to Russia because that’s who they are – they have an incredible strength and will – but it’s also because of medical kits on the battlefield that were made possible from donations by people in Monongahela.”
Serhiy Vdovichenko was born in Crimea, but spent most of his life in Kherson. The couple met in 2003, when Susan traveled to the country for a two-year stint in the Peace Corps.
Serhiy invited her to play basketball with a group of his friends at a local gym.
They were married in 2005, and the couple have three children.
The Vdovichenkos last visited Kherson in 2018, and at the beginning of 2022, Serhiy’s sister and brother-in-law traveled to Monongahela. The entire family attended the Nutcracker at the Benedum Theater, unaware that two months later, their lives would be upended by war.
The Vdovichenkos have been able to talk with family members in Ukraine almost daily, thanks to a patchwork of internet services.
“They have trouble getting medicine, they have trouble getting money, they have trouble getting food, there are bombings. But they are living their lives day-to-day,” said Dr. Vdovichenko.
The couple is thankful for the individuals and organizations that have donated to assist Ukraine, and are grateful for the generosity and compassion people have shown.
“It’s been amazing how generous people have been,” said Dr. Vdovichenko. “Ukrainians are fighting this war, but this is everybody’s war.”
Note: To order dinner, to donate items, or for questions, contact Sabot at 724-288-6435 or Fourth Presbyterian Church at 724-503-4687.