'A little bit of Christmas, a little bit of normalcy': How you can help Ukrainian newcomers this Christmas

A non-profit is collecting donations to help make the holiday season a little more special for Ukrainian families who recently arrived in Manitoba, fleeing violence in their homeland.

The Ukrainian National Federation of Canada’s (UNF) Winnipeg branch is hosting a special breakfast for families on Dec. 17 at its Main Street building.

“The kids and their families have gone through so much turbulence and upheaval over the course of the last nine months or so, so we wanted to bring them a little bit of Christmas, a little bit of normalcy to their lives, and just to welcome them to Winnipeg and to show them that Winnipeggers care,” said event co-chair Tony Zerucha.

Families who attend will be treated to a pancake breakfast and a special appearance from Santa Claus himself.

Zerucha hopes every child who attends will also leave with a present, but the federation needs Winnipeggers’ help to do it.

The federation is hosting a toy drive to help make this happen. It is calling on the public to bring new toys to the UNF facility at 935 Main Street on Mondays to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Zerucha said they have already received many items for young children, and are now in need of gifts for kids ages three to 12.

“We have a team of folks ready to wrap them and get them ready for the 17th, and then we'll hand them out there,” he said.

“If we get more toys than there are people coming to the breakfast, there are so many people that have registered with the UNF that we’ll make sure that we deliver them to their homes, as well.”

Zerucha notes UNF has registered more than 2,600 families who have recently arrived in Winnipeg, fleeing Russian aggression, to receive food, clothing, furniture and other essentials. These items were also supplied mainly through donations from the public.

With the holiday season approaching, Zerucha knows Winnipeggers will come through again.

“Manitobans are known for being very generous folks. We’d love that when they’re out shopping, they throw an extra toy in the cart and deliver it to us, and we can guarantee you it’ll brighten someone’s Christmas,” he said.