THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022 A3
LocalNews
Woman living in Redmond returning to Ukraine
Ira Steeves, a refugee from
war-torn nation, going back
to Ukraine as a volunteer
with her husband
BY JOE SIESS
CO Media Group
A Redmond man and his new
Ukrainian wife, who came to Central
Oregon as a refugee from Russia’s inva-
sion and war with Ukraine, will return
to the war-torn country to assist as
volunteers on a team moving food and
supplies into formerly Russian occu-
pied territory.
Ira Steeves, along with her sister,
Kristina Sinohach, fled Ukraine with
Connor Steeves, 23, in the spring.
The group first left Ukraine by cross-
ing into Poland, then flying to South
America, and then to Mexico before
crossing into the U.S. via the southern
border in July. The sisters and Steeves
settled in Redmond, where Steeves’
parents live, and on July 25, Ira and
Connor Steeves got married.
Ira and Connor Steeves met in
Ukraine while they were volunteering
for the We’re Near team, a humanitar-
ian organization that assists refugees,
and soon after began dating. They
both have travel arrangements to ar-
rive back in Ukraine on Jan. 2 where
they plan to teach English to Ukraini-
ans fleeing the war, and to volunteer
with a nonprofit missionary organi-
zation.
In the beginning of the trip, the
couple will first visit Ira’s family in her
home town of Chernivtsi, something
Ira Steeves said she looks forward to
without fear.
“I am not scared. I know there we
will always have help and support that
we will need, because there are still lots
of my family and friends,” she said. “I
was more nervous in the beginning,
when I was just thinking about it, but
now I am feeling peace about it.”
Now, the two are settled on their
plans to enter Ukraine via the Roma-
nian border, where Ira Steeves’ par-
ent’s will pick them up. Once settled in
the country, the couple will volunteer
through the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv
University, where they will plan and
raise money to start an English lan-
guage and leadership training program
for students living in villages within
the Kyiv region, Connor Steeves said.
As part of the initiative, the couple
will also offer their own English lan-
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Connor and Ira Steeves of Redmond stand before a Ukrainian flag. The couple is traveling to Ukraine to help a nonprofit organization that works with youths.
guage classes independent from the
university, Steeves said.
The couple also plans to lend a hand
working with a team of missionaries in
the country under the auspices of the
Youth with a Mission organization, a
nonprofit interdenominational Chris-
tian training program that operates
around the globe.
The couple will be working with
James Hopkins, a missionary who
runs the Youth With a Mission orga-
nization in Lutsk, and who has lived in
Ukraine for 25 years. Hopkins, along
with his wife, organizes aid programs
for Ukrainians fleeing the war, offering
food, clothing, shelter, and supplies.
Hopkins said he and his wife and
two daughters, who decided to stay
in Ukraine, were expecting Russian
President Vladimir Putin to invade the
country.
They were prepared, and had
“I am not scared. I know there we will always have help and support
that we will need, because there are still lots of my family and friends.
I was more nervous in the beginning, when I was just thinking about it,
but now I am feeling peace about it.”
— Ira Steeves, Ukrainian refugee now living in Redmond
bought supplies and a generator, Hop-
kins said.
Hopkins said soon after the Rus-
sians invaded the country, people
would come to his door with Molotov
cocktails and plans to teach him and
his family how to properly throw them
at tanks, an experience he described as
“surreal.”
At the moment, Hopkins’ crew is
primarily delivering food to the east-
ern side of the country, in addition to
some other supplies and medical gear,
he said. Hopkins said the organization
is also hosting thousands of refugees at
a 22-room facility, feeding and cloth-
ing them, and eventually taking them
to the border for their trip out of the
country.
Teaching refugees English, as Ira
and Connor Steeves plan to do while
in the country, is an important skill for
Ukrainians fleeing to other countries
where they may not speak the lan-
guage, Connor Steeves said. English
gives refugees a better chance of being
able to communicate abroad, provid-
ing more opportunities for employ-
ment.
While Hopkins and his crew do not
teach English, he agreed that the skill
is essential.
Hopkins added that the couple
would be working with him as volun-
teers, and would most likely be based
in Lutsk, the city in northwest Ukraine
where Hopkins lives with his family,
and where the organization he directs
is stationed. With a team of between
three and 12 volunteers, Hopkins said,
the group would move into formerly
Russian occupied areas, and other dev-
astated regions, to deliver food and
supplies, in addition to sharing in-
formation about Christianity, which
Hopkins said gives many Ukrainians
affected by the war hope.
Ira and Connor Steeves have a Go-
FundMe page to raise money to assist
in Ukraine.
█
jsiess@bendbulletin.com, 541-617-7820
Wintervention series comes to Redmond
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
Hoodoo’s Wintervention
event series kicked off on Nov.
15 in Sisters before heading to
General Duffy’s Annex in Red-
mond on Nov. 22 — where a
crowd gathered shoulder to
shoulder for contests, trivia and
prize giveaways.
“It’s amazing,” said Lauren
Wenzel, a bar manager for Hoo-
doo who attended the event.
“It’s so much tun to feel all the
Hoodoo love.”
The event was sponsored by
dozens of businesses, including
Avid Cider Co., KRXF 92.9 FM,
Three Creeks Brewing, Black-
strap, Black Butte Ranch and
others.
The sponsors, Wenzel said,
donated prizes to Hoodoo spe-
cifically for the Wintervention
series, which will give away
roughly $50,000 worth of gear
by the time it finishes up in Jan-
uary.
Wenzel said the series was a
fun way to get pumped up for
the snow season at Hoodoo.
Hoodoo will host events both
in the Willamette Valley and on
the east side of the Cascades ev-
ery Tuesday at venues including
Avid Cider, the Barn, Bierstein
and two more events at General
Duffy’s in Redmond — on Dec.
13 and Jan. 10.
Additionally, Wenzel said
Hoodoo is still looking to fill
positions on the hill. Nearly all
departments are hiring, she said.
The opening date for Hoo-
doo is still to be determined, but
Wenzel said to check back at
skihoodoo.com for details on an
opening day announcement, job
openings and details on Winter-
vention.
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@
redmondspokesman.com
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
Attendees of the Hoodoo Wintervention event series gathered at General Duffy’s Annex on Nov. 22 in Redmond. The event saw giveaways of lift
tickets, lodging, gear, skis and more.
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