December 1, 2000

Endowment Created for Ukrainian Canadian Programme

The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies is the beneficiary of a new endowment created specificially to help finance the work of the Ukrainian Canadian Programme. The first such CIUS fund in the field of Ukrainian Canadian Studies, it has been established by William and Justine Fedeyko of St. Albert, Alberta, who have previously been generous contributors to the John Kolasky Endowment Fund as well as other Institute projects.

Mr. William Fedeyko was born in 1911 near Krydor, Saskatchewan, northeast of Hafford, where his parents homesteaded after emigrating from the Sokal region in Galicia. Mrs. Justine Fedeyko (nee Raychyba) was born in 1914 to Ukrainian immigrants from the Ternopil area of Western Ukraine. Although her parents originally settled in the Interlake district of Manitoba, they later moved to Prelate, Saskatchewan, south of Kindersley. Both the Fedeykos are former Mohyla Institute residents, where they initially met while attending high school. First living in Saskatoon and then in Edmonton, they eventually retired in Kelowna, British Columbia. A few years ago they relocated to St. Albert, northwest of Edmonton, to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

The Fedeyko Family Endownment Fund will generate additional funds for the Ukrainian Canadian Programme to sponsor scholarly research, host conferences, facilitate publishing and engage in community outreach activities.

Jars Balan, the Administrative Coordinator for the UCP, underscored the importance of Mr. and Mrs. Fedeyko’s donation, as well as its symbolic significance: "At a time of chronic underfunding of post-secondary education by all levels of government, it is crucial that Ukrainian Canadian Studies develop other resources to supplement the limited monies that are available from public sources. It is fitting that Mr. and Mrs. Fedeyko, who are descendants of Ukrainian pioneers, should pay tribute to the groundbreaking spirit of their ancestors by starting an endowment that will be dedicated to preserving their memory."

Other families wishing to similarly honour their Ukrainian Canadian roots are invited to contact either Jars Balan or UCP Research Coordinator, Andrij Makuch, for information on how to establish an endowment. Queries may be directed to the former at the CIUS Edmonton office, (780) 492-3765, or the latter in Toronto at (416) 978-4404.