In March 2017 at the launch of the Razom for Ukraine Co-Pilot Project, Slava Vakarchuk promised to come back to New York and play a private concert to raise funds for the project. He invited Fima Chupakhin to join him to create and perform a mix of jazz standards and Океан Ельзи / Okean Elzy songs. On Saturday (on November 4th, 2017) he kept his promise and performed to a sold out audience that raised over $33,500 to improve the quality of neurosurgical and spine surgery in Ukraine.
Slava Vakarchuk performs at Razom Co-Pilot Fundraiser on November 4th, 2017. Photo by Pavlo Terekhov.
Slava Vakarchuk is a civic activist, musician and the lead vocalist and founder of the band Okean Elzy. Fima Chupakhin is an accomplished prolific jazz pianist who performs and records widely as a solo artist, as well as with his jazz group Acoustic Quartet (AQ) and with musicians from many countries. Razom is pleased to collaborate with these talented musicians from Ukraine to bring you this evening to support the development of a prosperous Ukraine.
The CPP team builds on the medical mission work that has been going for two decades in Ukraine by Dr. Rutka, Dr. Romach, Dr. Marsh, Dr. Antonyshyn, Dr. Mainprize and others. The Co-Pilot Project, however, is designed to go beyond the work of existing medical missions and to use the medical community as an arena in which to increase civic engagement and to amplify voices from Ukraine. The work is designed to make an immediate impact while also building mechanisms for lasting change. When working in Ukraine, the CPP team puts a focus on training medical staff in improving patient-doctor relationships, clinic operations, and inclusiveness (with a particular focus on encouraging women medical students to pursue neurosurgery.)
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CPP team spent 3 months in Ukraine this summer. Video by Ruslan Batytskyi and Anna Borysova.
Monies raised will go towards purchasing additional equipment for hospitals, funding future mission trips to bring more doctors to work on complex cases in Ukraine, and to pay for neurosurgery partners from Ukraine to participate in international medical conferences. Funds will also continue to be used to create video and text materials that show the activity of the project to audiences in Ukraine and around the world.
From left to right: Dora Chomiak, Razom board member and the super woman behind the event; Mariya Soroka, Razom president and CPP Project Manager listen as Luke Tomycz, MD, Lead Physician on the project, gives an update on the results so far and plans for the next year.
In just seven short months, the tremendous work by outstanding volunteers made this evening possible. Thank you to Oksana Falenchuk Andriy Falenchuk, Dora Chomiak, Maria Genkin, Dasha Ozimko, Nastia Rab, Tetyana Dzhula, Taras Likhtanskyi, Dmytro Kavun, Irina ZS, Yulia Kurka, Yulia Paslavska, Kasia Zabawka, Sashko Danylenko, Lyuba Shipovich, Mariya Soroka, Luke Tomycz, Ruslan Batytskyi, Roman Borovets, Anna Borysova, Olga Kondratiuk, Andrew Bogovych, Pavlo Terekhov, Larisa Krutyakova. Without all your expertise, passion, and ‘can do’ attitude this would not have been possible.
We are very grateful to Slava Vakarchuk with the professional team at Okean Elzy and to Fima Chupakhin for sharing their music and talents to create such a special evening.
Razom’s mission is to build a prosperous Ukraine; the Co-Pilot Project trains professionals to build medical institutions that are among the engines of that prosperity.
Thank you to each donor who has invested to make this possible. Please continue to be involved and invite your friends to visit Razom for Ukraine here and on Facebook to read about projects, volunteer opportunities and how to donate. Go to the home page to sign up to get the Razom newsletter.
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Please enjoy and share photos on your social media from the evening taken by Pavlo Terekhov.
