In the state of Minnesota, where the entire population is blanketed by the affectionate term “Minnesota nice,” it is practically a foundational belief that kindness carries forward. One act tends to initiate another, and so on, until a long-reaching chain extends statewide—and in some cases, far beyond.
This particular chain of kindness is one that covered over 5,000 miles, starting in the seaside city of Odessa, Ukraine, and ending (at least for now) at a locally owned figure skating academy in Shakopee, Minnesota.
Misha Ivanchenko, a 14-year-old figure skater from Odessa, was at a competition in Kharkiv with his older sister when disaster struck his home country.
“When they started bombing Ukraine, our two children were not with us,” recalls Misha’s mother Yulia Ivanchenko, who was back in Odessa at the time with the rest of their nine-person family. “In Kharkiv, all the competitions were canceled, and the children were in the basement of the hotel, as there were explosions in the streets.”
On the same day, Jane and Ed Gracza, a local couple who has been visiting Ukraine on dental missions for over 20 years, watched the events unfold across their TV in Roseau, Minnesota.
“Visiting Ukraine over the years, we just fell in love with these people,” shares Ed Gracza. “When the war came around it was a no brainer. We knew we had to sponsor refugee families.”
The couple was quick to take action. They joined the United for Ukraine program and began searching Facebook for families in need of financial aid. It wasn’t long before they came across the Ivanchenkos, who were seeking temporary refuge at a farmhouse on the German countryside.
“It was a difficult period in our life. But we didn’t give up figure skating,” says Yulia Ivanchenko, who recalls escaping to Germany with just a few basic necessities—their seven children, their car, and their children’s figure skates.
For the Ivanchenkos, leaving skating behind was never an option. Amid the chaos their lives have been thrown into, the sport became one of their only semblances of routine and normalcy. Everything else around them was completely different—but a double lutz still takes off on a back outside edge.
photo by Kate shurts
The Graczas, who had recently become empty nesters, moved the Ivanchenkos into their home in December 2022. It quickly became clear to the couple that this was a special family—hard-working, gracious, and hardwired to achieve. Local coach Kathy Carlson calls them the classic “skating family.” Of the seven children, six of them have participated in the sport (except 3-year-old Sergey, whose time will likely come). The two older sisters, both married, competed internationally for Team Ukraine and now coach. The middle three children are in the thick of their training, with Misha having already nabbed a Ukrainian National Championship for his level. Yulia ran a business sewing and making bedazzled competition tights back in Odessa. Skating is sort of akin to breathing for the Ivanchenkos—it must persist at all costs.
It took the Graczas no time to realize this.
“Hockey is really big here [in Roseau] but not figure skating,” says Jane. “It was obvious they needed more coaching and more people to compete with.”
The Graczas contacted their son-in-law’s mother Kathy Carlson, a former Eden Prairie-based coach who had recently retired after 30 years, and asked if she would be willing to sponsor the children’s training.
“I was almost 60, and thinking, ‘it’s probably time to just be done and be a grandma,’” says Carlson. “And then I got this call.”
As Carlson knows well, training as an elite figure skater is not cheap—the typical competitive season will cost between $35,000-$50,000 per skater. Back when Carlson was a national-level skater, she faced considerable financial barriers to her own training. But a simple act of kindness ensured that her dream could continue on.
“A coach named Cindy Watson decided to move me to her home in Chicago and teach me for free.” Carlson says, “It meant so much to me that I’ve always hoped to pay it forward. And I’ve been waiting for that opportunity for 40 years.”
Carlson came out of retirement to teach the three middle children, Misha, Yelyzaveta, and Alexandra (ages 14, 11, and 6, respectively) free of cost at Eden Prairie Community Center. Very quickly, she realized how gifted the young athletes were, particularly Misha, who was already nurturing dreams of competing for Team USA.
“I was just blown away.” Carlson says. “I knew I couldn’t do it alone, I needed help. And so, a coach in Eden Prairie suggested that I reach out to Lorie.”
Based at Shakopee Community Center, Lorie Charbonneau is a professional coach and the founder of Go4Gold Skating Academy, an elite program that includes on- and off-ice training and structured academic tutoring, drawing athletes from all over the world.
When the Ivanchenko children auditioned for Go4Gold, Charbonneau was aware that the family would need help with ice time and training fees until further notice.
“I thought of it this way,” Charbonneau began, “I remember watching the war on television, and thinking, ‘I wish I could do something.’ Then Kathy contacted me, and I guess I felt like, ‘well, here we are. Here they are. It’s time to put my money where my mouth is; it’s time to step up and do something.’”
provided by Go4gold skating academy
When Go4Gold’s summer program began in 2023, the children started on the full-time academy schedule—which runs from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. every day. Later that fall, after Misha won his level at Midwestern Sectionals, Charbonneau took over as his full-time coach. While still young, Misha has big dreams, with an ultimate goal of winning a U.S. National Championship. Carlson gifted him with a replica Team USA jacket last winter, which he wears proudly to the rink he now calls home.
“The skating is how we’re showing our support. But it’s come out in so many other ways. There are families from the rink who’ve brought in clothes for the kids. People are always asking what they can do to help,” says Charbonneau.
For the Ivanchenkos, Minnesota is home now. The family recently applied for their green cards, which Charbonneau—who is herself Canadian-born—helped write recommendations for.
“We’re so thankful to live in a country where there are people like this,” says Yulia, “where so many Ukrainians have been able to save their lives and the lives of their families.”
The future may be uncertain, but for now, the Ivanchenkos continue to show up at the rink each day. After all the change they’ve endured in the past two years, one thing remains constant—a sheet of ice will always bring them home.
If you want to help the Ivanchenkos, you can donate to the family’s GoFundMe here.
