A Newmarket couple is collecting hockey equipment to send to children in Ukraine at an upcoming drive at the Magna Centre.
Kateryna Illyashenko and her husband are holding the drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 21 and 22 inside the recreation centre.
The couple is originally from Ukraine but has lived in Canada for several years, including two years in Newmarket. They were inspired by the story of a friend in Kyiv who is the director of a hockey school.
He told them about a young boy named Mark whose family has moved around a lot over the past few years due to the war. They were living in Mariupol but the war forced them to leave. In April of this year, they ended up in Kyiv.
Illyashenko said that Mark's family wanted to find a hockey school for him to enjoy a somewhat normal life and get back to training. They ended up at their friend's school, however, Mark didn't have any equipment.
"Having left Mariupol in a hurry, his family barely had time to collect their personal belongings, let alone any sports equipment. Mark is just one of the hundreds of kids who left their homes with nothing," she said.
The director asked Illyashenko if they could organize something to help and even though they aren't connected to the hockey community here, they agreed to organize a drive. She reached out to Newmarket Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh, who connected her with Jackie Tranter, who has helped the York Simcoe Express Hockey Association organize similar drives for Indigenous youth.
While it has been overwhelming, she said Tranter has been a big help in bringing it all together.
On both days, they will have a table set up inside the Magna Centre collecting donations of hockey sticks, skates, helmets, neck guards, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey gloves, pants, and jerseys.
Illyashenko and her husband will organize the donations here and then ship them to Ukraine, where the hockey school will sort and distribute them to the kids in need.
