by Elizabeth V. Hallett

Local aid for a small town in eastern Ukraine was spurred by Ashlander Ben Stott’s first trip to Ukraine in the fall of 2022 and Jim Nagel, Rotary Club member and retired Ashland High School coach. Since January, a nonprofit has formed to raise funds for essential tools that the community can use for basic survival needs.

Working through the US branch of Ukraine Aid International (UAI), Ashland has been paired with Svyatohirs’k, a small town decimated by the war after forming a sister city project called Ashland-Svyatohirs’k Aid Project or ASAP. A proposal went to the Ashland City Council. Mayor Tonya Graham was able to meet with her mayoral counterpart, Volodymyr Ribalkin, on Zoom.

While declining to allocate city funding, the Ashland City Council approved the formal sister city status for the Ashland-Svyatohirs’k Aid Project. The ASAP Board and many supporters quickly produced a very successful musical fundraiser on August 19 at the Ashland High School Auditorium under the direction of Betsy Bishop, Retired Ashland HS Theatre Producer. The house was packed.

During the fundraising event, a video created by Ben Stott while in Ukraine was shown, focused on the city of Svyatohirs’k and a tour he took with the mayor.