For special children with love

On May 21 the world-renowned Hryhory Veriovka Choir (conductor Zenovii Korinets) will invite the citizens of Lviv and guests of the city to the Lviv Opera House for a charity concert “For Special Children with Love.” The artists will dance and sing for free to support programs for disabled children from the center Dzherelo and the City Rehabilitation Center.

As the PR manager of the center Dzherelo Natalia Miakushko explained, the choir itself initiated the charity concert in Lviv. According to words of Myroslav Nikolaiev, director of the Rehabilitation Center, it is not the first time that the choir wants to help children in Lviv. In January 17,000 hryvnias were transferred to the bank account of Dzherelo – the money that the choir earned on its tour in Germany. Nikolaiev said that the money was used to pay for the gas used by the six buses used every day to bring children to Sykhiv in Dzherelo and then get them back home.

“Children only study here but do not stay for the night,” explained the director of the center.“We are not a boarding school and do not want to be one because the children we work with should not be taken away from their families.”

On a daily basis the center works with 150 children who have IDP and other motor disabilities, Down’s syndrome, autism, disorders in intellectual and speech development, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other developmental disorders. Daily care costs are 90 hryvnias per child. Over 100 families receive help at the polyclinic department. Sometimes the children under wardship are only two weeks old.

That is why the staff of Dzherelo and the staff of the City Rehabilitation Center are thankful for all the sponsors. There are a couple of them. Among them are Lviv-born president of Charity Fund Harry Bowman, and Honorary Consulate of Canada in Lviv Oksana Vinnytska, who has been taking care of Dzherelo since it was created, both with words and with actions.

The organizers of the charity concert “For Special Children with Love” promise many surprises for the audience. What will they be? They are being kept in secret for now. It is only known that the performance will last for two hours non-stop, and that it will be an interesting mix of events, ending with hopak. It will be the first concert of the choir in full (nearly 100 people) in Lviv. The price for tickets starts from 100 hryvnias. The organizers say that half of the tickets have been already sold. Those who care about children with special needs paid even 500 and 1000 hryvnias for the tickets. Those who can not afford even 100 hryvnias can buy tickets in Dzherelo with a 50 percent discount.