The Temerty Foundation is pleased to announce a gift of $700,000 US from Helen and Paul Baszucki to support the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) in promoting awareness of the Famine in Ukraine from 1932-33, known as the Holodomor.
HREC was founded in 2014 by the Temerty Foundation as a project of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, with the aim of fostering research, teaching, and knowledge of the Holodomor.
With offices in Toronto and Edmonton, HREC has over the last eight years advanced the field of Holodomor studies through a range of programming, including grants to researchers of the Famine and a vibrant publishing program. HREC’s education program works to ensure that the Holodomor is taught in schools through initiatives that include the development of teaching materials and training of educators. HREC works closely with the organization HREC in Ukraine, which is led by Liudmyla Hrynevych and which was also established through funding from the Temerty Foundation.
The gift from the Baszuckis will allow HREC to expand current outreach efforts, including the development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), international conferences, and programs that engage scholars early in their careers. The funding will also be used to digitize 2 rare Holodomor survivor testimonies and to make these valuable materials accessible online to researchers, schools, and the general public.
Helen and Paul Baszucki’s ancestors immigrated to Canada from Western Ukraine in the early 20th century. Many of the family were farmers who homesteaded the land in Saskatchewan. Helen and Paul met at the University of Saskatchewan before moving to Eastern Canada and to the Chicago area in 1969. The family resided for more than 30 years In Minnesota, where Paul was CEO of a telecommunications company. Most of the family today resides in California.
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