Themes by tag: volunteers

Colonels Monte and Chuck from the USA call themselves “Traveling Colonels”. They are retired U.S. Marine Corps officers and both veterans of the Iraq War. During the full-scale war, the Colonels collected and distributed over 9,000 first aid kits, hundreds of medic bag kits, tons of hospital surgical aid.

Currently, the Colonels are providing basic medical supplies for surgeons, pediatricians, ophthalmologists and others. Each month, medical supplies arrive from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other European countries.

Since 2022, Monte has made 17 trips to Ukraine, while Chuck has visited 12 times.

Journalists can learn more and speak with “The Traveling Colonels” in Kyiv.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

Seventeen-year-old Radomyr Tiutiunnyk is the son of a soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the start of the full-scale invasion, his father told him that drones, especially FPV drones, were one of the critical needs for Ukrainian defenders on the front lines. Radomyr decided to help his father and tried to build them himself.

He found all the necessary information on the Internet. His first “birds” successfully passed tests, and Radomyr began assembling drones on a regular basis. At first, he worked on drones in his spare time after school. Now he has formed a team that produces more than 1,000 units a month. Volunteers print the parts for the FPV drones on a 3D printer. Over the course of his work, Radomyr has delivered about 15,000 FPV drones to the front lines.

You can contact Radomyr Tiutiunnyk online or in person in Odesa by prior arrangement.

• children
• volunteers
• Odesa

Mariia Ksondzyk, the daughter of a fallen ATO veteran, worked as a journalist before the full-scale invasion. Petro Shuklinov also had a media career in civilian life, but joined the Defense Forces in 2023. With the outbreak of the war, Mariia and Petro joined forces as volunteers. Their work involves selecting, purchasing, transporting, repairing, and delivering quality vehicles to military personnel.

In 2023, they founded the non-profit organization Nesemos Fund, later opening a donation shop and eventually a technical service station for military vehicles. Every month, Mariia and Petro attract numerous donors and work with various foundations to cover the cost of vehicle repairs. Today, the Nesemos Veteran Autohub repairs 20 to 30 military vehicles each month.

A year ago, the team began working on opening a civilian vehicle repair shop to secure additional funding. The shop is currently in test mode. Mariia and Petro have successfully hired veterans and displaced persons from Mariupol and Kharkiv to work at the facility.

To connect with the Nesemos team, you can arrange an online or in-person meeting in Kyiv by prior appointment.

• military
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Before russia’s full-scale invasion, Oleh Bykov and his brother ran a legal firm as advisors. But their lives shifted after February 2022—Oleh paused his legal career to dedicate himself to volunteer efforts, while his brother joined Ukraine’s National Guard.

Oleh went on to establish the Kremenchuk Volunteer Defense Headquarters, delivering humanitarian aid to front-line regions. During one visit to a stabilization center for injured soldiers, he witnessed the challenges medics faced in removing shrapnel from wounds. Determined to help, Oleh collaborated with a technologist to develop magnetic extractors, innovative devices designed to remove shrapnel from hard-to-reach areas.

His team has since produced five types of extractors, each tailored to different parts of the body. Among their most advanced designs is the Hydra—a flexible tool for extracting shrapnel and bullets from the heart, currently undergoing testing at the Heart Institute and the Shalimov National Research Center for Surgery and Transplantation. Oleh provides these devices to civilian and military doctors free of charge, using their feedback to refine the designs further.

To arrange an interview with Oleh Bykov, you can meet him in Kremenchuk or Kyiv, either online or in person, by appointment.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv
• Poltava

World Central Kitchen (WCK) has launched a new winter initiative to aid Ukrainian communities impacted by the ongoing war. The organization is distributing vegetable parcels to frontline areas, helping families navigate the challenges of the colder months.  

Every week, 8,550 vegetable packages are delivered to regions including Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhia. Each parcel weighs 9 kilograms and includes staples essential for preparing traditional Ukrainian dishes—beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic.  

WCK emphasized that winter presents significant hardships for many Ukrainians, particularly those in areas where food supplies have been disrupted or where access to essential goods is severely restricted.  

For reference: World Central Kitchen is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meals to people affected by disasters and crises. Founded in 2010 by renowned chef José Andrés, WCK gained global recognition for its work in Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake that year. The group continues to support communities in need with on-the-ground food relief efforts.

• casualties
• food
• volunteers

In the Vinnytsia region, volunteers from the group Soldier’s Kitchen are manufacturing smoke bombs to aid Ukrainian defenders on the front lines. Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, these homemade devices have been used to shield against enemy snipers, obscure the view of drones, assist in evacuating the wounded, simulate damaged equipment, and force adversaries out of their dugouts.  

The team initially learned the technique from YouTube videos but refined the process through trial and error to create their own version. Despite using straightforward ingredients—nitrate, paraffin, and powdered sugar—the production process is complex. Each smoke bomb costs approximately 60 hryvnias to make, and the volunteers have crafted over 20,000 since the war began.  

To add a personal touch, the volunteers decorate the smoke bomb casings with ornaments and include a unique illustration of a Ukrainian soldier urinating on a caricature of Vladimir Putin.  

Soldier’s Kitchen is open to sharing their story, with interviews available in Vinnytsia or by phone upon prior arrangement.

• volunteers
• Vinnytsia

Luis, a 19-year-old born in Venezuela, has travelled to different countries since he was a child, including living in Canada. Seven months ago, he arrived in Ukraine and  began offering free English lessons to children. Currently, Luis is a volunteer at the Kyiv branch of the Voices of Children Foundation. According to Luis, this project allows him not only to help children learn English, but also to give them opportunities to grow and find joy through play.

Journalists can arrange to meet and speak with Luis in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• children
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On International Volunteer Day, the non-governmental organization Dobrobat will host the country’s main ceremony in honor of 250 heroes of Ukraine’s recovery. The event will bring together volunteers who are working tirelessly to rebuild destroyed homes, schools, hospitals and other critical social infrastructure.

The ceremony will take place in Kyiv on December 5. Invited guests include volunteers, partners and representatives of international organizations. The primary goal of the event is to honor people whose contribution to Ukraine’s recovery is becoming an example for the whole world.

The program includes awards for the most active participants in key categories. The ceremony will be hosted by Volodymyr Ostapchuk, an ambassador of Dobrobat. 

Accreditation is required for the event.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

Highlighting the importance of creating a truly inclusive environment for people who have lost limbs due to landmine and explosive injuries, FRIDA Ukraine had the opportunity to meet Nataliia and help her get back on both feet.

Nataliia is a nurse from the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk oblast. A russian shell hit her house and she lost a limb. In telling her story, she emphasized that in spite of everything, she continues to live life to the fullest and does not want to be pitied. After Nataliia became the face of the FRIDA Ukraine project, their German partners heard about her. A few months of logistical arrangements followed, and Nataliia returned with a prosthesis and an incredible determination to help others.

Her home clinic from Bakhmut has been relocated to Brovary in the Kyiv oblast, where Nataliia continues her lifelong mission.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-governmental, non-profit humanitarian mission of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. It has been providing emergency and outpatient medical care to civilians affected by the hostilities since the beginning of the invasion.

• casualties
• doctors
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

At just 17, Dmytro Slobodianyk is making a difference far beyond his school in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region. During his free time, the high school student designs and builds essential devices for the Ukrainian military, including FPV drones, charging stations, and power banks. His volunteer journey began at the outset of russia’s full-scale invasion, starting with periscopes before advancing to more complex technologies like soldering charging stations using online schematics.  

Dmytro’s passion for innovation didn’t stop there. He taught himself to build drones and custom batteries, recently delving into inverters—devices that convert car battery power into a stable voltage for operating equipment such as Starlink terminals and walkie-talkies.  

To create these devices, Dmytro prints some components on a 3D printer and purchases others through donated funds. His dedication has already resulted in three inverters being sent to the front lines, with three more in production. The young inventor proudly notes the positive feedback he’s received from soldiers.  

For those interested in meeting or speaking with Dmytro, he is available both online and in person by appointment in the Vinnytsia Oblast.

• children
• volunteers
• Vinnytsia