You're reading: Burns Night on April 18 aims to help hospitals

The Kyiv City Children's Hospital for Infectious Diseases has been struggling to get modern laboratory equipment for five years. And now, thanks to the Kyiv Lions Club, the hospital is likely to receive these potentially life­saving tools soon.

The Kyiv Lions Club will raise money for the hospital at its upcoming Burns Night charity event on April 18 at 7 p.m. The party extravaganza has been held annually, although missing last year because of the EuroMaidan Revolution and Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In addition to the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital for Infectious Diseases, another Burns Night recipient this year will be the Kyiv City Center for Pediatric Neurosurgery, which is in desperate need of ultrasound equipment.

All together, the two hospitals need $57,000 for the new equipment. The Lions Club expects Burns Night to raise at least this amount.

The first Burns Night took place 20 years ago in Kyiv, organized by a group of expatriates. The almost-annual bash has since become the service organization’s biggest annual charity event, followed by its annual President’s Gala Dinner and Kozak Night. Burns Night raised nearly $80,000 for charity in 2013. The event honors Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759–1796).

“This is the way expats could get together and do something for charities in Ukraine,” says Stuart McKenzie, acting president of Kyiv Lions Club and co­-organizer of Burns Night. The club aims to collect $250,000 in donations annually.

In 2013, the Kyiv Lions Club bought special educational equipment worth Hr 63,156 for Perspektiva 21/3, a project to assist children with Down’s syndrome.

Irina Jahn, a medical doctor, has been an active member of the Lions Club since 2008 and currently serves as chairman of the donation committee. “The idea of being part of an organization in which both expats and Ukrainians work together to improve the lives of less fortunate people was very appealing to me,” she says. Jahn now helps plan fundraising events and looks for sponsors.

This year, the Kyiv City administration offered up City Hall as a free venue for the occasion, saving the Lions Club significant expenses.

“I hope we will get $50,000­ – $60,000, or maybe more,” McKenzie says, adding that this year tickets were sold out a month before the event.

The Lions Club has earned credibility because of strong rules on transparency and spending. “We will not sponsor one person,” McKenzie says. “We don’t pay salaries and don’t give cash.”

The Kyiv Lions Club focuses on big projects that improve the lives of many people, especially children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Over the years the club has provided equipment to several medical institutions, including the Butterfly Children Association, the Child Rescue Center and the Association for Palliative and Hospice Care.

The theme of this year’s Burns Night is “We Love Ukraine.”

“This year we all agreed that Burns Night will be dedicated to Ukraine and Ukrainians,” McKenzie says. “And we will be raising as much money as possible for the people of Ukraine.”

Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at [email protected]