Residents, families and staff at Parkwood Place rallied Tuesday (April 12) to raise relief funds for Ukraine, collecting nearly $2,000 to be forwarded to the Canadian Red Cross.
Resident Gerald Moreau played a major role in the event, sharing his enthusiasm for helping out and inspiring others in the community to do what they could to help.
“People said that I speak passionately, but I’d rather say I come with a spirit of conviction to help others and to encourage others to do the same,” he said.
While he was too young to participate in the Second World War, Moreau’s older brothers did and he remembers the conflict well. Seeing war happening again in another country, much like the one in his memory, is heartbreaking, he said.
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“We need to live in peace with one another – if we can’t live in peace with one another, how can we expect to have peace with other countries?”
Fellow resident Sybil Butterfield’s father was involved in both the First World War – beginning at age 18 – and Second World War.
“By the time the second war began he was an officer in the army,” she recalled. “He was too old to fight, but he spent five years in Europe being involved in the war – he was protecting the south of England involved in the bombing.
“It’s absolutely disgraceful that this is happening again and we need to learn from history.”
Parkwood Place residents plan to continue inspiring others to donate to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees and to spread the word on how important it is to maintain world peace.
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