Charitable Concert Supports Ailing Children

A concert sponsored by St. George parish in Cincinnati raised more than $5,000 to support three local families whose children are being treated at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Renara Akhoundova performed the benefit concert on Friday, November 13 at the elegant Peterloon Estate for a sold-out crowd of parishioners and their guests.

The children have all come from Russia to seek specialized medical treatment at the hospital, one of the best children’s hospitals in the United States. Three-year old Ksenia Nechaev, who has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, ( http://rusfondusa.org/en/letter/56 ), awaits a heart transplant. Nine-year-old Ilia Smirnov is undergoing treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (https://www.gofundme.com/8bntu0 ). Slava Anufriev, 9, receives chemotherapy for brain cancer ( http://www.eng.slavaanufriev.info/about.html ). Though cost of their treatment is sometimes covered by Russian charities, American visa restrictions prevent the parents from working while they live in the United States making it difficult to pay for living expenses.

Renara Akhoundova is a classically-trained pianist from Baku, Azerbaijan who performs her own compositions and improvisations (http://www.renara-akhoundova.com/en/ ).She frequently performs at orphanages, hospitals and international charity events with the goal of providing spiritual healing through her music. The parish is particularly grateful to Abbot Alexander (Frizzell) of the Hermitage of the Holy Cross and Aline Saad, both of whom made her performance in Cincinnati possible.

The evening began with appetizers and drinks organized by St. George parish assistant head sister, Svetlana Pinkerton. A silent auction of artwork continued throughout the evening. We ask for your prayers for these children and their families and encourage those who are able to support these families through donations to the St. George parish website ( http://www.stgeorgeroc.org/renara ). The concert was the start of a long weekend of events surrounding the St. George parish 27th anniversary.

- A participant

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