Student Art Auction Benefits Siversk

Contributed photos

June 10, 2024 | by Ted Craft

A silent auction of student artwork on June 2 raised $1,040 to benefit the children of Siversk, Ukraine, Weston’s sister city.

The event, organized by Weston High School National Art Honors Society co-presidents Lou Menchell and Leah Bievenour, was held at the Georgetown Arts and Cultural Center and featured live jazz.

Conditions in Siversk remain dire. The city has been without electricity, gas, and sewage disposal for over two years. According to the Voice of America, the city’s population of more than 12,000 before the Russian invasion is about 800 today.

Donations to Ukraine Aid International, who arranged the Sister City Partnership between Weston and Siversk, are still welcome.

A nation under siege

In a recent New York Times article (possibly behind a paywall), data gathered by scientists from the City University of New York Graduate Center and Oregon State University painted a devastating portrait of damage Ukraine has sustained in two years of war.

Attacks on schools, hospitals, and churches are specifically forbidden by the Geneva Conventions, of which Russia is a signatory, but more than 900 such facilities have been damaged or destroyed by Russian bombs, missiles, and artillery, according to the analysts.

The report notes that those estimates are conservative, and adds that the number of buildings destroyed in Ukraine is equal to four times the number of all structures in Manhattan.

Ms. Menchell and Ms. Bievenour

Student Art Auction Benefits Siversk

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