Youth Natalya Shevchuk changing the Battlefords

“My uncle Gordy, who passed away in 2008, was a client of BTEC when it was still called Shelter Workshop,” Shevchuk said. “He loved to dance and would always tell new stories about what BTEC was like and how great it was for people like him.”

The fundraiser hosts around 40 local dancers of all genres and includes dinner and silent auctions to raise funds for the BTEC Building Fund. Shevchuk said dancing and volunteerism are her two passions, so it made sense to combine the two into one.

When she’s not fundraising, the teen still keeps her schedule pretty full by dancing with a Ukrainian dance troupe, the Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble (PFE) in Saskatoon twice a week. Shevchuk also dances in the Battlefords regularly, and keeps up her honor roll grades.

“Graduation in June. That’s my life so far,” she said. Her plan is to attend the University of Saskatchewan in the fall, and hopes to one day become a dentist.

With so much on her plate, Shevchuk said her support from family and friends helps her get by.

“Sometimes with school and dance and wanting to do everything I possibly can it can be [overwhelming], but it’s all worth it in the end, so I just kind of have to get over that hump sometimes,” she said. “My family and friends are extremely helpful with that so I’m lucky.”

“I’m happy with what I do and how I can do it,” she said, “so I feel like I have lived the best life I possibly could right now. I’m very lucky.”

The community-oriented teen will be performing in the Dancers Who Care fundraiser on March 11, and hopes to have her Blessings Box up by March 13.

Katherine.svenkeson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @ksvenkeson

by Katherine Svenkeson

Youth Natalya Shevchuk changing the Battlefords

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