Themes by tag: volunteers

Maryna Kotlobai is a dermatologist who began her journey as a volunteer doctor with FRIDA, the Ukrainian-Israeli mission of medical volunteers. Today she is one of the captains of its field missions.

Maryna is from the town of Khrustalnyi in the Luhansk oblast (occupied since spring 2014). After 2014, she was forced to move to Kharkiv, and later to Siverskodonetsk, Luhansk oblast (occupied since June 2022). When the full-scale invasion began, she had to leave her home again – this time she and her parents fled abroad. But just a few months later, she returned to Ukraine to start a new life in the capital.

Journalists can speak with Maryna in Kyiv, online or during FRIDA’s field missions.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli mission of medical volunteers dedicated to helping civilians. Volunteer doctors provide quality medical care to Ukrainians affected by the war.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• volunteers
• Kyiv

The Charitable Foundation “Volunteer Union PORUCH”, in collaboration with partners, has launched a project to install automatic feeders for cats and dogs near the front lines. The initiative aims to ensure a continuous food supply for animals in areas where people have been forced to flee due to shelling.

The feeders are specially designed structures that automatically dispense dry food while protecting it from moisture. Volunteers have already installed 100 automatic feeders in the Donetsk oblast, providing a lifeline for more than 500 stray animals.

Unfortunately, as russian forces advanced, some of the feeders ended up in occupied territory.

By prior arrangement, journalists can interview Foundation volunteers in Kyiv, observe the feeders in action, receive photo and video material, and, if possible, speak online with residents of the Donetsk oblast who are monitoring the feeders.

• animals
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On March 5, a renovated bomb shelter in one of the gymnasiums in Mykolaiv will be opened. The shelter was restored by “Dobrobat” volunteers, who carried out demolition work, wall reinforcement, and floor and ceiling replacement. The three-month renovation was funded by the international organization “Nova Ukraine”.

The shelter will serve as a safe space for 400 children and staff. This is the second shelter restored at the gymnasium, helping to ease the transition to face-to-face learning.

Speakers:
– Mykhailo Bryzhko, Head of Regional Development, NGO “Dobrobat”
– Yurii Osipov, Coordinator of the Mykolaiv branch, NGO “Dobrobat”
– Representatives of “Nova Ukraine”
– School administration

Accreditation is required to participate in the event.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Mykolaiv

35-year-old Jason Hercula is from Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA. Back home, he tried many different jobs — he worked as a barber, a pizza delivery driver, and also has experience in construction. He had long dreamed of traveling and even started learning French to feel more confident in French-speaking countries.

However, his plans changed drastically in 2022 when he learned of russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Resolving to help those affected by the invasion, Jason shifted his focus from French to learning Ukrainian.

During his time in Ukraine, Jason has worked on rebuilding numerous sites — mostly residential homes in war-torn towns and villages in the Kyiv oblast — and even helped clear rubble in Kyiv after missile attacks. His favorite task is roof repair, where he has become an expert.

Background information: Dobrobat (short for “Dobrovolchyi Budivelnyi Batalion” — “Volunteer Construction Battalion”) is a volunteer construction initiative that helps war-affected communities with the urgent reconstruction of homes and social infrastructure in de-occupied areas.

• reconstruction
• volunteers
• Kyiv

The all-Ukrainian youth organization Building Ukraine Together (BUR) is at risk of shutting down following the loss of USAID funding. The organization has also recently lost financial support from another key donor, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

BUR warns that without funding, it will be forced to cease operations in March, potentially leaving communities that applied for restoration assistance without support. For now, the organization is focused on fulfilling its remaining commitments.

Journalists can arrange interviews with BUR representatives by prior request.

Background: Building Ukraine Together (BUR) is an NGO that actively engages young people in volunteer work and non-formal education. The organization has a network of 9,725 volunteers, including 211 from abroad. Since the start of the full-scale war, BUR volunteers have helped restore 378 facilities.

• reconstruction
• volunteers

The Repair Together volunteer community is joining forces with the Gurtum Charitable Foundation’s Save Mala Opera project. On February 16, they will hold a restoration event at Kyiv’s Mala Opera—an initiative known as the “Rave Toloka.”

Built in 1902, the Mala Opera is a historic architectural landmark in Kyiv. The building sustained damage from enemy shelling, with its walls, ceiling, and decorative elements suffering significant harm.

During the cleanup, volunteers will work to the rhythm of music. And, as organizers note, “there will be a little dancing” at the end of the day.

Journalists will have the opportunity to cover the volunteers’ efforts on-site.

• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Liudmyla is 77 years old, a trained anesthetist and resuscitator. When russia launched its full-scale invasion, she stepped in to help treat wounded civilians in occupied Hostomel, Kyiv oblast (two people had shrapnel wounds). With no medical instruments available at the local clinic, she had to sew up wounds with an ordinary sewing needle and thread.

Today, Liudmyla continues to support Ukraine’s defense by weaving camouflage nets with a group of local women volunteers known as “Chervona Kalyna”. She dedicates herself to volunteering almost every day.

Journalists can speak with Liudmyla in the Kyiv oblast.

Background: February 24, 2025 will mark the third anniversary of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• casualties
• occupation
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Before the full-scale invasion, 29-year-old Mykola Petrovskyi lived with his father and grandmother in Kherson. Mykola is disabled — after a car accident, part of his left foot was amputated and he now wears a prosthesis.

When Kherson was occupied by russian forces, Mykola became a volunteer, helping people in the city. One day, russian security forces abducted him from his home.

In September 2023, the so-called “Supreme Court of Crimea” sentenced Mykola Petrovskyi to 16 years in a maximum security penal colony, falsely accusing him of “espionage”.

Letters from Mykola reveal that he was tortured in captivity, beaten, denied proper medical care, which is crucial for a person with a disability, and starved.

Read his full story here.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Mykola’s mother (online) and with his lawyer and human rights experts in Kyiv (in person).

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• volunteers

On February 12, Ukrzaliznytsia and the Sonoma Cats Charitable Foundation will host a large-scale blood donation drive in Kyiv.

The event will feature several key initiatives:

• The Ukrainian Bone Marrow Donor Registry will offer attendees the chance to register as potential donors.
• The Ukrainian Transplant Coordination Center will provide an opportunity to sign consent forms for posthumous organ donation.

Beyond blood collection, the initiative will also raise funds for pre-hospital blood transfusion equipment for the medical service of Ukraine’s 13th Khartiia Brigade of the National Guard. 

Journalists planning to cover the event are required to register in advance.

• volunteers
• Kyiv

On February 1, Dutch volunteers Franky and Coen, widely recognized for their unwavering support for Ukraine, will embark on their 30th humanitarian mission to the war-torn region. The duo plans to continue their signature effort of distributing fries and Dutch snacks to those affected by the conflict in Donbas, having already served over 200,000 portions. However, their mission extends beyond food aid—they will once again assist in evacuating individuals from frontline areas who are unable to escape on their own. These evacuees will find refuge at “The Holland House,” a shelter run by the volunteers in Dnipro.  

Franky and Coen are no strangers to the dangers of their work. In a previous mission, they narrowly survived a deadly rocket attack in Kramatorsk that claimed 13 lives and left both of them with minor injuries.  

Journalists interested in speaking with Franky and Coen can arrange interviews with them in Kyiv or Dnipro.  

The duo’s volunteer journey began at the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Franky, who owns a snack bar in the Netherlands and operates food trucks at events, was struck by images of refugees lining up at the Polish-Ukrainian border. What started as a one-time plan to hand out fries at the border soon turned into a full-scale humanitarian mission, with support from his friend Coen. Their efforts quickly expanded beyond the border. They initially worked in the Lviv region, then moved to areas in the Kyiv region that had just been liberated. Their subsequent missions took them to Kharkiv, Donbas, and eventually to Kherson and Zaporizhia. Over the past two years, Franky and Coen have consistently returned to some of the most dangerous regions in Ukraine, providing both aid and hope to those in need.

• casualties
• food
• russian crimes
• volunteers
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• evacuation