Themes by tag: volunteers

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

The Save Ukraine charitable organization and its partners have installed modular houses as part of the Fort Home project for people displaced from their homes by war. The modular housing is available in Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernivtsi regions. Currently, 117 Ukrainian families have settled in the modular homes.

Despite their small size (20 square meters), these modular homes are of good quality and have all the necessary living conditions for families to feel comfortable and cozy. These are dwellings with water supply, heating systems, a generator/air conditioner, a fully equipped kitchen, and household appliances. Housing is provided free of charge and for a long-term period. The residents receive monthly humanitarian and medical assistance.

Journalists can learn more about the Fort Home project and talk to the residents of the modular homes, whenever possible. 

• casualties
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Student Azad Mamedov founded the “FrontPower” project: along with other volunteers they make power banks for the military out of used disposable e-cigarettes.

About 25 batteries from disposable e-cigarettes are needed to make one such power bank. The case for the power bank is printed on a 3D printer. The final product is a 20,000 mAh power bank.

People send single-use e-cigarettes by mail or drop them off at special collection points.

The team has already managed to produce a total of 20 power banks and send them to the front.

For reference: The project is implemented by volunteers in partnership with the Department of Youth Policy and National Patriotic Education, the Dnipro Youth Council, and “Department of Good Affairs” Charitable Foundation.

• volunteers
• Dnipro

Viktoriia Samiilenko is a native of Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast. Before the full-scale invasion, she was in charge of a civic organization in her hometown. After the outbreak of the great war, Viktoriia decided to leave Volnovakha and move to her son’s house in Vinnytsia. Here, she could not sit idly by and took up civic engagement activities again. Viktoriia attended various events for IDPs, met IDPs, created a joint online chat, and later founded her own Chest of Ideas and Actions NGO. 

Viktoriia’s husband, a soldier, asked her to knit him socks. This prompted a woman to unite IDPs so that they could help Ukrainian defenders, in particular, knit warm clothes for them. At first, these items were sent to the brigade, Viktoriia’s husband a staff of. Later, the woman teamed up with other volunteers for socks from IDPs to reach different units.

• volunteers
• women
• Vinnytsia

The Russian-Ukrainian war affected Hanna Samotey back in 2014. It was the first time her husband went to the front lines to defend Ukraine, and she became a volunteer. Together with the other soldier’s wives, Hanna founded the “Big Heart” public organization in the Odesa region.

Later, the women rented the premises of a village school, put it in order, and set up a gym, a children’s playroom, and a billiard room. This is how the Center for Recreation and Rehabilitation of ATO (Joint Forces Operation) Participants were born.

With the full-scale war outbreak, Hanna’s husband and her eldest son mobilized to the Defense Forces, and she took up volunteering again. The recreation and rehabilitation center for soldiers has turned into a volunteer hub. Here, they weave camouflage nets, sew “kikimora” masking covers with their own technology, roll cigarettes, and package honey vitamin smoothies for the military. After the victory, Hanna plans to engage in military rehabilitation again and scale up the Center.

• volunteers
• women
• Odesa

Mariia Lutsak is a seamstress from Ivano-Frankivsk region, who founded the first co-sewing space in her region. Mariia set up two directions of work: one is volunteers who sew warm clothes for the Ukrainian military, and the other is craftswomen who create fashion collections for sale.

After the full-scale invasion began, Mariia saw the need for warm clothing for the Defense Forces and managed to unite the women of her community to sew clothes for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Women worked even during a blackout, using flashlights as sources of light.

Eventually, Mariia decided that it was worth scaling up production and making underwear for the military as well. The woman received a grant from the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, so now she has special sewing machines for sewing underwear. 

• volunteers
• women
• Ivano-Frankivsk

Saint Nicholas’ Reindeer project volunteers have received as many as 1,000 letters from children from all over Ukraine. Basically, children ask St. Nich to bring toys, sweets, bicycles, or gadgets (as many of them study online) as a gift. This year, the kids also ask for victory for Ukraine and help for the Armed Forces, and some of them dream of going back to their destroyed homes.

According to the charity initiative, any person can pick a child’s letter and fulfill a dream. The volunteers will deliver the gifts, create a festive holiday celebration, and take a photo report. They will visit the de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region, and work in Kyiv, Donetsk, and many other localities.

Journalists can talk to the campaign organizers, and cover the process of distributing gifts by volunteers, wherever possible. 

For reference: The St. Nicholas’ Reindeer project was founded in 2016 in Kharkiv to support children from frontline communities.

• children
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Children’s Voices Foundation is on the BBC 100 Women list. The project recognizes the achievements of women around the world and in all spheres of life – from volunteering to running international organizations. 

A 27-year-old Olena took up the position of press secretary at The Office of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the President of Ukraine. In this role, she became deeply involved in human rights activities and learned more about the problems children face. This was followed by 5 years of volunteering in Donbas, the founding of the Voices of Children charity foundation, and the growth of the team from 2 employees to 200 people. 

The Voices of Children Foundation provides psychological and psychosocial assistance to children and war-affected families.

Read more on Olena’s biography here.

For reference: This year, the BBC 100 Women has included two more Ukrainians, Oksana Zabuzhko and Iryna Stavchuk, in its list. Apart from the Ukrainians, 27 global climate activists made the list. Other inspiring women on this year’s list include Michelle Obama, a lawyer and former first lady of the United States, and Amal Clooney, a human rights barrister.

• children
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

In the “Warm Up” (Zihrii) movement participants knit warm clothes (hats, scarves, balaclavas, mittens, and socks) to be sent to Ukrainian defenders. These pieces of clothing do not compete with tactical equipment but aim to show caregiving to the military. As the founders of the movement explain, apart from military tasks, soldiers have other tasks, such as cooking and going to the post office. This is where warm scarves, socks, or hats from “Warm Up” come in handy.

Over 5 thousand people from all over Ukraine have joined the initiative since its inception. Ukrainians abroad (Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden) also knit for our defenders.

The people of various professions: top managers, editors, nannies, etc have been joining the “Warm Up” movement. There are also men among the knitters.

• military
• volunteers
• Kyiv

The B50 community was formed in the very first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Its future founders gathered near one of the Territorial Defense Forces headquarters, which had a secret address, B50, whence the community’s name followed. Since the Ukrainian forces have liberated the Kyiv region, B50 volunteers were among the first to join the cleanup and debris removal in Bucha, Irpin, Vorzel, and Hostomel. As of April 2022, the B50 community has been dispatching visiting missions to the de-occupied towns and villages of the Kyiv region every week to deal with cleanup activities of homes destroyed by the occupiers. In addition to debris removal, since 2023, the community’s volunteers have been restoring the children’s libraries funds in the frontline and de-occupied territories, reconstructing and decorating children’s bomb shelters, and helping animal shelters affected by the hostile invasion.

For reference: The B50 volunteers community is ready to have conversations with journalists, both online and offline. You can join the community missions every weekend.

• animals
• reconstruction
• volunteers