Pilates instructor helps to raise money for Ukrainian refugee family

Donnamarie Lewis discovered the story of Tetiana Burenko on a Facebook group for pilates instructors and decided she wanted to help.

She recently held a fundraising event at Bramshaw Village Hall which involved a Zoom class with Tetiana. It raised a total of £437 for Tetiana and her 11-year-old daughter.

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Donnamarie said: “Tetiana made the decision to go to Dublin to live with her sister. Hettung to Dublin took a couple of weeks. After leaving Ukraine they got to Slovakia then Poland and lastly they reached Ireland. They left Ukraine with very few belongings and Tetiana had left her job as a pilates instructor.

“I couldn’t offer her a regular teaching job due to her location, whilst my classes can be accessed via Zoom I run them face to face at the same time.

“So I decided to run a one off fundraising class where my clients and members of the community could come to my studio in Bramshaw and have a class via Zoom with Tetiana.

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“I took a large flat screen TV to the studio and invited all of my clients and the wider community to come along. Participants also had the option to join via Zoom from their homes if they preferred.

“I asked all participants for a donation of whatever they could spare and set a target of £200. The class was amazing and we raised a total of £437 for Tetiana and her daughter. I am overwhelmed and overjoyed at the generosity of my clients and others that joined this very special class.”

Donations can still be made by visiting justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tetiana-burenko.

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