Dear Editor, We’re thrilled to share that our Ukrainian event “A Spoonful of Courage”, which took place at BRLSI in Bath on Saturday, 13 June 2026, was a complete sell‑out, with 60 wonderful guests. It officially opened Refugee Week in Bath this year.
Zhenya Shkil, Founder and Chair of the Friends of Oleksandriya, opened the evening with a heartfelt speech on courage, the official theme of this year’s Refugee Week. This was followed by a beautiful concert featuring Tymofii Lehkyi on piano, Yuliia Lut singing gorgeously, and Everton Hartley accompanying on both piano and guitar. Guests were able to read the lyrics in Ukrainian alongside English translations displayed on stage, which helped everyone connect with the songs on a deeper level.
William Jackson, a Trustee of the Friends, also spoke about the organisation’s important projects, including a coach trip for children from Ukraine, a generator appeal, and a veterans’ centre project.
We Thought We Had More Time… | Ukrainian Class Story
The evening’s food was another true highlight, prepared by Iryna Malenko—a MasterChef finalist from Oleksandriya who recently opened her own café, Sweet Bramble, in Trowbridge. She crafted a delightful menu of traditional dishes, including borscht, varenyky, and a honey cake that everyone absolutely adored. She warmly welcomes anyone who enjoyed her cooking to visit her café.
Lastly, we extend a huge thank you to all the volunteers—especially the Ukrainian community—and to Roger Surry from Bath Freemasons for their support with the crockery and cutlery. Altogether, we raised £3,579.60, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who contributed.
Please share this email with those who came as your guests!
If you are not our member yet and would like to become one to get regular updates, special discounts and more, please email us and we will send you full information on this.
Although our webpage does not accept payments at the moment (we are trying to resolve this issue), we would be grateful for any donations which can be transferred to our bank account directly or Rotary Club of Bath bank account (here it can be done with Gift Aid).
The Friends of Oleksandriya, Account Number: 87883868, Sort Code: 30-54-66
Please include a reference indicating which project you would like your donation to support — for example: coach trip, generator, veteran project, etc.
Alternatively, you may transfer your donation to the Rotary Club of Bath using the reference Oleksandriya.
Their details are:
Account name: Rotary Club of Bath, Account number: 01118566, Sort code: 30-90-54, Reference: Oleksandriya (followed by the project).
Thanks a lot for your ongoing support.
Zhenya Shkil
Chair and Founder
Friends of Oleksandriya
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