Theodore Humeniuk, Founder
History
SUS Foundation of Canada was established in 1965 through the vision of Theodore Humeniuk. Mr. Humeniuk immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in 1907 when he was 16 years old. He began educating himself and completed grade 8 in 1915 when he was 24 years of age. After completing high school, he went on to attend Osgoode Hall Law School, graduating in 1923, becoming the first lawyer of Ukrainian heritage in Eastern Canada.
Mr. Humeniuk assumed numerous leadership roles in many Ukrainian Canadian organizations and recognized a need to establish a framework for the future financial support of Ukrainian culture and education in Canada. He was an active member with the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada, or in Ukrainian, Cоюз Yкраїнців Cамостійників Kанади, the acronym being “CYC”, the English transliteration being “SUS”. To ensure the foundation became a reality, Mr. Humeniuk contributed the first $50,000 to initiate the endowment fund for SUS Foundation of Canada.
On May 11, 1965 SUS Foundation of Canada was federally incorporated as a charitable foundation. The first directors were Theodore Humeniuk, Nicholas Evanetz, Nestor Hrabowski, Paul Kit, Stephan Klimasko, Savella Stechishin and Anna Tokarek. SUS Foundation is an affiliate organization to, and acknowledges the guiding principles of, the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada.
SUS Foundation provides grants for "the preservation and advancement of education of the Ukrainian culture in Canada". With a solid background and over 50 years of tradition, beginning with Theodore Humeniuk’s $50,000 donation, the goal of the Foundation is to ensure his vision carries on to future generations.