Razom for Ukraine was honored to be awarded a 2022 Village Award from Village Preservation, a non-profit group that advocates for the preservation of architecture and culture in several Lower Manhattan neighborhoods. The awards honor the people, organizations, and businesses that make the culturally and architecturally historic Greenwich Village, East Village, and NoHo neighborhoods so special.
Dora Chomiak, Razom’s president, accepted the award on behalf of the thousands of volunteers and donors that power Razom. Ukrainians have deep ties to the area with waves of immigrants arriving and settling in the early 1900s and again post-World War II.
“The Village has always been a place where people come together to make art, to make community. And very importantly to take action… This community has come together to deliver food to hundreds of villages across Ukraine,” Chomiak said while accepting the award on Tuesday evening at The Cooper Union’s Great Hall. “Ukrainians have been an integral part of the Village for more than 150 years. We are standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Razom was born in the winter of 2014 during Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity in the historic Ukrainian East Village and has called this important New York City neighborhood home ever since. Razom has been bringing together community members for over eight years who care about building a prosperous and free Ukraine.
Since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Razom has focused its efforts on distributing over $35 million of aid into Ukraine where it is needed most.
Event emcee and artist Penny Arcade said that since russia’s invasion, the entire Village community has been impacted. “I know that all of us who live downtown…felt a really heartfelt attack in ourselves because of our relationship with the Ukrainian community,” she said.
Razom has felt the support of its East Village community from fundraisers and donations to seeing Ukrainian flags flying in the neighborhood.
“I know it’s hard… there is a fatigue that sets in. But your flags on your fire escapes matter. When we talk with our colleagues and our friends and our cousins…that support is felt. The rallies in the streets, the donations, the time, every single day people express how important it is for them to see that and to feel that when they are in Ukraine,” Chomiak said during her speech. “Freedom is never free, but the price we are paying now is going to be lower than if we do not pay it right now…And this is exactly why Ukraine will win. We need your help to stand with Ukraine, to continue to be part of that community that cares.”
Razom was honored along with our neighbors including Astor Place Hairstylists, Bonsignour, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis and Middle Collegiate Church, Pageant Print Shop, Zinc Bar, and Regina Kellerman Award recipient Jane Friedman and Howl! Arts. The Cooper Union co-hosted the event.
Razom is thankful for all the support it has felt in New York City – home to the largest Ukrainian community in the United States.
