The Beginning
My name is Vadym Shlonchak. I was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Like millions of Ukrainians, my life changed completely the day the war began.
I first sent my family to safety in Europe. A few months later, I too had to leave my home, my family, my friends, and everything familiar to me. I left behind not just possessions and a career - I left behind a part of my life.
When I finally arrived in Europe and saw my wife and young son again - he was only a few months old at the time - something happened that I will never forget. Because of our long separation, my own child did not recognize me. For any father, that is an incredibly difficult moment. I remember holding him and not being able to hold back my tears. It was joy and tremendous pain at the same time.
Coming to Canada
Honestly, staying in Europe was never what I wanted. Since childhood, I had always been drawn to North America. Like many people, I grew up on films, stories, and dreams of a new life. I had always looked toward the United States, but life had other plans - and I decided to try starting over in Canada.
Together with my wife's brother, we arrived in Toronto. Like so many newcomers, we believed that a big city meant big opportunities. We thought it would be easiest to find work and begin a new life there.
The first month, we rented a place and searched hard for work. But everything turned out to be far more difficult than we expected. Despite every effort, steady employment was nowhere to be found. Our money was running out, and so was our confidence in what tomorrow might bring.
At one point, we had no housing and were forced to live in our car. That was one of the hardest periods of my life. You are in a new country, you don't know the language, you don't know anyone, and you have no idea what comes next.
The Kindness That Changed Everything
That was when something happened that changed my understanding of people forever.
Through Facebook, we connected with a woman named VJ. She offered her help and let us stay with her temporarily while we tried to get back on our feet.
At that time, my wife and son were still in Germany. I couldn't bring them into uncertainty - I didn't yet know where I would live or how I would support my family.
Later, through the generosity of people in St. Marys, my family was able to come to me.
VJ placed an ad in the local newspaper about Ukrainians who had arrived in town and were looking for work. That ad was seen by Brad Petrie, the owner of St. Marys Landscaping. He invited us to come work for him.
I am still grateful to Brad and his entire team for the way they welcomed us.
We barely spoke any English. Instead of seeing that as a problem, the team installed Google Translate on their phones and used it every single day to talk with us, explain tasks, and simply have a conversation. For someone who arrived in a new country without knowing the language, that kind of gesture means the world.
Later, Brad offered my family the chance to stay at his home temporarily. That support during one of the most difficult periods of our lives meant everything to us.
Over time, I was able to rent my own apartment and finally begin building a new life for my family.
Finding My Place
After some time, I had the opportunity to fulfill a long-held dream and spend a period of time in the United States. But that is when I understood something simple:
Sometimes the journey to a dream turns out to be better than the dream itself.
I came back to Canada.
I spent some time in London, Ontario, but quickly realized it wasn't the right place for me. I missed that sense of community I had found in St. Marys - where people know each other, help each other, and genuinely care about their town.
I returned to work with Brad, found a home in St. Marys, and knew with certainty that this is where I want to build my life. Later, my wife and I started our own business - St. Marys Cleaning.
Loss From a Distance
There is one more thing that has profoundly changed how I see life.
While I am here in Canada and cannot simply go home, life keeps moving. Over these years, I have lost several people who were very close to me.
My grandmother passed away, after a long battle with cancer. My grandfather passed away. My uncle - my mother's brother - passed away.
The hardest part of losses like these is not death itself. The hardest part is knowing that you are thousands of kilometres away from home and cannot be there. You cannot support your family. You cannot hold the people you love. You cannot say goodbye. You cannot be present for the final farewell.
War takes far more than homes, cities, and familiar routines. It takes time that can never be recovered. It takes moments that will never come again.
That is why I never want to hear war treated as a joke. For millions of people, war is not news on a screen or a headline on the internet. It is separation from family. It is lost years. It is missed birthdays. It is words never spoken. It is people you will never see again.
These things change how you see life, family, friends, and the communities we belong to.
Why Town's Post
Over time, I came to understand that the real value of any town is not in its buildings or roads. It is in the people - the people who live nearby, who help each other, who create a sense of home.
Perhaps that is why the idea of Town's Post became something more than a technology project for me. It became an attempt to help people stay closer to one another and not lose their connection to community in a world that keeps pulling people apart.
The idea started as a local marketplace. But the more I worked on it, the more I understood I was building something different.
Town's Post is not just a classifieds website. It is a digital reflection of small-town life - a place where residents can find each other, support local businesses, connect with specialists, discover events, buy and sell, take part in community life, and feel like a part of their town.
Today, Town's Post brings together St. Marys and neighbouring communities in Ontario. The platform already includes listings, specialist and business profiles, a community board, safe exchange zones, messaging, price watch, city pages, and many more tools designed to organize local life in one place.
What Comes Next
Town's Post today exists as a web platform. But this is only the beginning. I plan to continue building, adding new features, and creating mobile apps so that using Town's Post becomes even more seamless.
I want Town's Post to be with residents not only at home behind a computer, but in every user's pocket.
I am not trying to replace Facebook. Facebook is a global platform for the entire world. Town's Post is built for specific towns and specific people.
My goal is much simpler: I want to help small towns become more digitally connected. I want to create a place where local life is not lost in an endless stream of information, but stays organized, accessible, and genuinely useful for every resident.
I know that introducing something new is not easy - especially in small towns where habits take years to form. But I believe small towns deserve their own digital space, built specifically for them. A space that brings together residents, businesses, specialists, events, and local life in one place.
So I decided to start with the city that became my second home. The city I trust. The city I love.
St. Marys.
I was born in Kyiv. But today, part of my heart belongs to St. Marys.
- Vadym Shlonchak, Founder · Town's Post
