A concert in Luppitt, featuring a Ukrainian opera singer, has raised nearly £6,000 for the British Red Cross’s Ukraine appeal.  

Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Iryna Ilnytska, who lives in Exeter, opened the concert with two songs: a Ukrainian lullaby and a folk song called ‘The Moon in the Sky’.   

Organiser David Kalisch said: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Iryna’s songs had finished. The whole evening was very stirring and very emotional but also very community minded and people were just so ready to give to Ukraine.”   

The concert took place on Saturday, November 12 at Luppitt Village Hall and featured musical acts, an auction and a raffle.   

David, from Combe Raleigh, said he was partly inspired to set up the fundraiser because his father was a refugee who fled Czechoslovakia in 1939 at the onset of the Second World War. 

He said: “I have the history of what it’s like for that to happen, and for my family to have to uproot itself and leave and start all over again somewhere else. So there was a personal connection to the whole refugee story which was a strong incentive for me to do something.”   

He and Roger Hicks from Luppitt also performed at the concert as busking duo Blue Sky. Other acts included The Walnuts, whose band members include TV presenter Matt Allwright and broadcaster Fergus Muirhead.   

 The initial target for the fundraiser was £3,000, but so far £5,800 has been raised and they are now aiming to raise £7,000.   

Iryna said: “I feel very grateful to David, Roger and to the British people for supporting Ukrainian people in this terrible time of conflict. They support not only by words but also by their kind deeds.” 

Money donated to the fundraiser will go to the British Red Cross’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal. This will help to support the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, which has been responding from the outset, providing critical and lifesaving support to those affected. This includes helping Ukrainians with community integration, understanding their rights and entitlements, ensuring access to critical services such as health care, education and employment, housing, financial support and tracing family members.