Themes by tag: volunteers

On December 15, a charity table tennis tournament called Drone Pong will be held in Kyiv. The tournament is intended for amateurs. The competition will be held in the form of an elimination tournament, and each participant will be able play against at least 2 opponents.

The purpose of the charity event is to collect UAH 380,000 for 2 Mavic 3T drones for the 411th battalion of unmanned aircraft serving along the Tavria axis.

The entrance ticket to Drone Pong costs UAH 660, since December 15 will mark exactly 660 days since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Journalists are welcome to learn more about the event and cover the tournament.

For reference: Drone Pong is organized by Hurkit charity fund. This is a team of volunteers who have been helping military personnel, medics, and civilians since the beginning of the full-scale war.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

On December 10, in Kyiv, Plast will hold the first official event in Ukraine to transfer the Light of Bethlehem to the military, civil and volunteer organizations. In particular, representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, “Come back Alive” Foundation, the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, BUR, ULA and many others will receive a lamp with the Light from the Holy Land.

Plast scouts will receive a lamp with the Light of Bethlehem at a traditional scouting ceremony in Vienna on the morning of December 10 and will immediately take it to Kyiv. The event in the capital will begin with a marathon of good deeds for the military. Plast scouts and guests will make trench candles, helmets, bracelets and letters. Then this winter’s first official transfer of the Peace Light of Bethlehem in Ukraine will begin: Plast will share the Light with everyone present.

Later, through Ukrzaliznytsia, it will be distributed to all corners of the country. Lamps will also be delivered for defenders at the front lines.

Background: Plast has been participating in the “scout relay” of the Bethlehem Light for more than 30 years.

• culture
• military
• religion
• volunteers

Since the beginning russia’s full-scale invasion, the World Central Kitchen team has been working in various cities of Ukraine. Currently, they cook food for people in Kharkiv oblast (in particular, Vovchansk and Kupyansk districts), Chernihiv oblast, Sumy oblast, Kramatorsk, Kherson, Kyiv oblast (Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel, Horenka), Lviv shelters, etc. Despite the danger, the team works in front-line towns: they provide hot meals (the menu is developed by chefs) and food kits.

By prior agreement, journalists are welcome to cover how the team works.

For reference: World Central Kitchen is a non-profit non-governmental organization that provides food to victims of natural disasters and other types of disasters. WCK was founded in 2010 by celebrity chef Jose Andres, who along with his team cooked after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

• casualties
• food
• volunteers

Oleh Bykov is a volunteer and activist from Kremenchuk, Poltava region. With the beginning of the full-scale war, Oleh started looking into how to make it easier for medics to work with projectile fragments that remain in the bodies of wounded soldiers after being injured. Oleh’s team managed to create magnetic devices, which they named “Edelweiss” and “White Angel.” These are special devices that help doctors detect metal fragments in the wounded and safely remove them.

Oleg and his team can produce up to 50 magnetic devices in a week. More than 800 devices have already been delivered to hospitals and front lines by volunteers. “Edelweiss” and “White Angel” are used in many medical institutions of Ukraine, in particular, in Kyiv Hear Institute and O. O. Shalimov National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology in Kyiv.

• casualties
• doctors
• military
• volunteers
• Poltava

The Center for Civil Liberties is offering journalists to visit the 10th anniversary of the Volunteer Award issued by the Euromaidan SOS initiative on International Volunteer Day, December 5. The event will take place in Kyiv.

The Volunteer Award is a non-governmental annual prize honoring ordinary people who do extraordinary things. This year, the organizers are abandoning the volunteer nomination procedure, as they are convinced that the importance of individuals and a large charitable foundation contributing in wartime are both equally important and necessary for Ukraine’s victory.

More than 200 volunteers from all over Ukraine will attend the event, it will feature a human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk giving a speech. 

Prior accreditation is required.

• volunteers

On December 9, the Brave to Rebuild project volunteers will visit the owners of the houses they helped to restore (in particular by clearing the rubble, repairing damaged houses, and laying communications) in the Kyiv region.

The Brave Little Santas initiative will be taken at Irpin, Bucha, Horenka, and Hostomel to pay a visit to about two dozen families.

Volunteers have already bought gifts. These include, for example, power banks, blankets, shoes, and much more.

By prior arrangement, journalists are able to cover the “Brave Little Santas” visits. 

For reference: This year, Ukraine celebrates St. Nicholas Day for the first time according to the Revised Julian calendar on December 6.

• casualties
• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

A 54-year-old Yevhen Tkachov has been evacuating people from the frontline cities and towns of Donetsk Oblast for more than 9 years. In particular, after February 24, 2022, Yevhen traveled to Bakhmut, Siversk, and Soledar. The man also delivers humanitarian aid to people in hot spots. He also takes care of animals, as he is a veterinary specialist. 

A few years before the full-blown war, he founded a hospice for older adults in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region. This hospice care was destroyed by the invaders at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Patients had to be placed in the Khmelnytskyi region. The hospice for the elderly seniors is supported by Yevhen’s family, including his son.

• animals
• casualties
• volunteers
• evacuation

Bozhena Hrynko pursued a dental specialty such as orthodontics, but she wasn’t committed to dentistry for long. Instead, she started her own business, dealing with recyclables. With the full-scale invasion outbreak, she moved her family to the Zhytomyr region, and after the de-occupation of Bucha and Irpin, she returned to the capital. Bozhena’s husband has been in the military since February 24, 2022, as he is a career soldier.

In the spring of 2022, Bozhena mobilized to the 44th Separate Rifle Battalion as the head of the medical service and medical center. On December 12, 2022, Bozhena got injured in the Donetsk region. She stayed four months in hospitals.

Bozhena and her husband bought a house in the Kharkiv region, where new homeowners settled with their daughter after her injury and rehabilitation. The military woman gives free lectures and practical classes on tactical medicine and handling explosive ordnance at the local lyceum. Next to the Bozhena housing, there is a vacant undeveloped land where she, her husband, and fellow soldiers plan to start a rehabilitation center for the military.

• doctors
• military
• volunteers
• women

On December 5, on Volunteering Day, journalists have the opportunity to visit the rapid response headquarters of the VETERANKA Women’s Veteran Movement. In particular, there will be a meeting with influencers, who constantly support the movement, as well as with defenders and famous Ukrainians.

In addition, the program includes: a tour of the headquarters featuring the explanation of the movement’s activities. Visitors can also try their hand weaving camouflage nets and kikimora camouflage suits, as well as sewing women’s military uniforms and putting together a package for the front.

For reference: The headquarters of the Women’s Veteran Movement is special in that it was created on the first day of the full-scale invasion. The movement successfully raised money to pay for 5,000 individual and collective requests from the front and IDP women. Their aid to the army is worth UAH 70 million (drones, cars, uniforms, body armor, etc.)

• military
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Volunteer journalists, professional chess players and the VETERANKA movement decided to organize a charity fundraiser called “Well-Aimed Fundraiser” to help Ukrainian snipers. The purpose of the fundraiser is to buy additional ammunition for the military, as there is a constant shortage of it.

The fund raiser will feature a charity chess tournament, which the organizers dedicate to the memory of chess players-warriors who died in the russo-Ukrainian war. Some of them include: Artem Sachuk, Oleksandr Hoshylyk, Mykhailo Safonov, Roman Khytrych, Serhii Mazurov, Oleksii Druzhynets, Andrii Melnychuk, Roman Buzinskyi, Andrii Chepil, Oleksandr Brivko, Andrii Vovchenko, Heorhii Promskyi, Mykola Hapchyn (MIA).

The tournament will consist of two stages: online (December 3) and offline: super final (December 9, in Kyiv).

Special guests include: soldiers — Lesia Lytvynova and Yevhen Shybalov, journalist Andriy Kulykov, blogger Denys Kazansky, military officer and writer Mykhailo Brynykh.

The winner of the chess tournament will receive a custom-made cyberpunk themed chess set made by veteran artist Vitalii Bernatskyi. Parts of the russian Su-25 shot down in Kherson region in 2022 were used to make the chess set.

Journalists are welcome to learn more about the event and, in particular, cover the super final on December 9. 

• military
• volunteers
• Kyiv