Benefit concert one step in reaching $10M fundraising goal for Ukraine

Alex Ray, Susan Mathison and two partners in social activism have been to Ukraine three times in the past year on missions to save and soothe thousands of children displaced by the ongoing conflict with Russia.

They travel in a military convoy, bringing food, sleeping bags, generators, warm clothes and gifts purchased with funds they have raised, as air raid sirens and chaos surround them. They see terrified, cold and hungry children, living without heat or electricity in abandoned buildings.

When they return home, they can’t unsee the devastation — or the children who clamored around their legs in gratitude.

So, this quiet team of four — Mathison, Ray, Steve Rand and Lisa Mure — has recently recommitted to their efforts to raise awareness and funds for these youngsters who range in age from infants to teens, upping their original $1 million goal to $10 million.

As they talk about the need and seek donations, they are also planning events. Their New Hampshire-based nonprofit, Common Man for Ukraine, will host a benefit concert in Meredith on Saturday, Feb. 11 — roughly two weeks before the first anniversary of the country’s war with Russia.

“A Valentine for Ukraine" benefit concert will be held at the First Congregational Church at 4 Highland St. from 4-6 p.m. No tickets are necessary, but donations are welcome. All proceeds will benefit the relief fund.

Ray is the owner of the Common Man family of restaurants. Rand owns Rand’s Hardware in Plymouth, and with their partners, Mathison and Mure, they have raised $2.6 million thus far, with the Common Man kicking off the effort with the first million dollars about a year ago.

The funds have since provided over 700 tons of food, 10,000 sleeping bags, 1,000 solar lanterns and hundreds of generators, as well as a bloodmobile serving on the war’s front lines and more than $400,000 of dedicated funding to a trauma counseling center for children displaced by the war.

“We are desperate to raise money,” Mathison said. “Raising awareness is another way to raise money. We’re trying to feed kids. It’s as simple as that. If you can’t give, share our story with someone. People want to help, and we’re giving them a way they can depend on.” 

About the concert

“A Valentine for Ukraine" benefit concert will feature performances by folk musician Bill Nieman with the Joyful Noise Ukulele Band, pianist David Lockwood, and the Congregational Church Bluegrass Band, spotlighting music and art to raise awareness of the plight of Ukrainian children who have fled the eastern front to take refuge in western Ukrainian orphanages.

The four co-founders of Common Man for Ukraine will also share their firsthand experience of leading a Christmas convoy of more than 25 trucks carrying aid and presents to 1,300 orphans outside Lviv and Rivne, Ukraine.

“Our hearts are with the Ukrainian people,” Neiman said. “Valentine’s Day presents an opportunity to remind others through art and music that we can all help Ukrainians. We’re hopeful people will come to enjoy the music and support the inspiring work Common Man for Ukraine is doing.”

Ray, whose family founded the restaurant chain in Ashland in 1971, says he was compelled to act last year, when the war broke out.

“It was just awful, terrible, ugly, and this was the best way we could help,” he said. “My career in hospitality has been molded with a desire to use the resources that our family has made in some way to help. We have a history of it.”

Shortly after the war began, Ray, Mathison, Mure and Rand — all longtime social activists — came together to figure out how they could help. As members of a local rotary club, Ray and Rand reached out to Rotarians in Poland, establishing the connection that allows them a concrete channel for sending funds and purchasing and delivering goods.

On their first trip in April 2022, the foursome met with their Polish counterparts to assess needs. They visited again in October and December to ensure that food and supplies were reaching the children and to help make deliveries alongside their Polish partners; they will do so again on their fourth visit, which begins Feb. 21.

“The number of kids arriving at these safe places increases every day,” Mathison said.

Raising awareness and funds

Children the four social activists are assisting have lost their parents in the war, or were sent by their parents into the safe homes for children, scattered across Ukraine and hidden in remote areas, to protect them from potential abduction by Russian troops who then traffic the children.

As they work to keep these young people safe and healthy, Ray, Mathison, Mure and Rand visit frequently to make sure efforts are on track. For several days each trip, they travel in a military convoy with trucks loaded with pallets of food and supplies.

On the last trip, they visited 21 orphanages and met 1,300 children.

“We brought enough food for them for 40 days,” Mathison said. “The food we left on Dec. 18 is now gone. We’ve got to get more food to them.”

How the effort has succeeded

Over the past year, hundreds of people across the state have helped in the fundraising.

Three nuns sent a check for $15, and an anonymous donor sent $225,000. A ukulele band raised $3,500 at a concert. A tennis tournament raised money. A group of physicians knit and donated hats, and a woman in the region who had no money to donate crocheted 20 stuffed animals and dropped them off anonymously at a Common Man restaurant with a note: “My heart hurts for the kids in Ukraine. Please make sure they get these.”

“It’s a great story of every person doing what he or she can do. Working together, we can do good,” Mathison said.

To support the cause, text COMMONMAN to 53-555 or visit commonmanforukraine.org.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct address of the First Congregational Church of Meredith, 4 Highland St.