Chernobyl fundraiser meets goal

It wasn’t a stampede crowd at the Royal Canadian Legion here Friday night but it was enough to raise the last bit of money needed to bring 11 children to Rainy River District from Belarus
Susan Affleck, local team leader for the Canadian Relief Fund for Chernobyl Victims in Belarus, said about 80 people attended the benefit dinner/dance.
A fundraiser tea was held earlier Friday in Rainy River.
“From the tea plus the dinner, we made about $2,200,” Affleck said. “I think we attained our goal with funds.”
She also said organizers were quite happy with the turnout, especially given the other events that were happening on Friday.
“We happened to pick a popular night,” she noted. “There was prom and there was the fish fry at the mounds.”
Affleck also thanked the men and women of the Royal Canadian Legion, who donated the hall space and the cooking for free.
Now the group’s attention is turning to the arrival of the 11 children, who will be landing in Canada on Monday, June 15–four days earlier than originally expected.
“We just have to finalize their arrival from Toronto to here,” Affleck said. “We’re waiting to hear from some airlines on rates for internal travel.
“There’s been some airlines that expressed interest in helping out.”
Affleck said travel arrangements should be better known by the end of the week. Otherwise, everything is set to go on this end, with the host families ready to take over as soon as their young guests arrive.
Several service clubs and community organizations have volunteered to put together events, such as a family picnic once the children arrive, giving them plenty of activities to do for the six weeks they’ll be here.
“Once they get here and settled in, all that should fall into place,” Affleck said.