From staff reports
Having raised more than $64,000 for Ukraine relief, according to a news release, the City of Beaufort was to end its Pride of Place campaign at the end of April. Of those funds, approximately half were donated by Thibault Gallery through the sale of pins and pendants honoring Ukraine’s yellow and blue flag.
The donations to the Pride of Place fund went to help the city of Ostroh, in western Ukraine, as it serves refugees from other parts of the war-torn country.
In mid-March, Mayor Stephen Murray reached out to Ostroh Mayor Yurii Yahodka to see how Beaufort might help this historic city. Mayor Yurii said he welcomed the help. He said that any donations would help Ostroh feed and offer shelter to refugees coming to Ostroh, and would help to supply the military with various needs.
Shortly after this relief campaign began, Greg Rawls, a glass artist whose work is displayed at Thibault Gallery on Bay Street, designed a blue and yellow glass pin that sells at the gallery for $20. The gallery will have donated $32,280 to the Pride of Place fund by the end of the month.
Beaufort has transferred some funds to a special bank account that Ostroh has set up, and will transfer the rest at the end of the campaign. The City will keep the Pride of Place fund open for several more weeks to gather any last donations.
