January 2nd, 2025
66,450 people evacuated from danger to date
92 people evacuated from danger this week
44 trips into deoccupied and frontline territories this week
As we write this report on New Year’s Eve, the frantic pace of volunteer efforts in Ukraine has not slowed down, even for the holidays. It’s difficult to find time to fully reflect on everything that took place last year. We would like to postpone this exercise until some time in January.
For now, we can report that most of our Ukrainian teams had extremely busy weeks, as they tried to get firewood to people to keep them warm, and food and hygienic products to keep them somewhat comfortable. The volunteers made extra efforts to deliver presents to thousands of children surviving in war-torn communities to make them smile. In all these endeavours the teams were successful.
The volunteers also sent their regards and heartwarming wishes to our entire community. We are all incredibly grateful for your support and your care. Thank you and happy new year! May 2025 bring justice and peace.
Stories
Christmas in the Ruins
Alena’s team, Virgo, traveled to the frontline area around Beryslav, to bring Christmas joy to 140 children in the villages of Urozhaine, Rakivka, Shevchenkove, and Velyka Oleksandrivka. 1,080 of the residents of Beryslav remain without electricity, water, and gas. The volunteers brought seventeen generators, which will be able to provide temporary electricity to about 50 households.
Living in hardship, the people in this area have not celebrated holidays for almost three years because everything around them has been destroyed by the war. Alena says:
In a room with only one light bulb and windows covered with temporary material, we sang, danced, and gave gifts. With heavy hearts, we returned home, realizing that the Russian terrorists are destroying our future.
Natalia’s Trip to Lyman Sustains Her
Last week, Natasha traveled to Lyman again. Fortunately, things there were quiet, with no explosions while the team was making deliveries. The trip felt like a familiar routine. After an 8-10 hour drive from Kyiv, the volunteers spent less than an hour distributing the 210 gift packages to the local residents. Some of the packages were also passed along to local volunteers to deliver aid to the elderly who couldn’t make it to the distribution point.
However the situation in Lyman is difficult. The village of Zakitne, where Natalia delivered aid only three weeks ago, now sits directly on the frontline. Even in Lyman itself every house now shows signs of damage.
Every person is precious to our volunteers and, despite the encroaching front line, Natalia is already planning to come back to the area two weeks from now.
“All of this is just part of the engine that sustains me," she says. "There is a war. The Russians just dropped a rocket only a couple of blocks from my house, but somehow I still feel happy inside. People invited me to New Year’s parties, but I didn't want to go anywhere. I was just content to stay home, and I feel very happy about it.”
Help in Occupied Territories
120 people received help in two occupied towns.
Team Summaries
Alina’s Team – Dobra sprava (Good Deeds)
14 trips with 92 people evacuated.
Inna’s Team – Krok z nadiyeyu (Step with Hope)
20.8 tons of aid distributed to 7,980 people.
6,600 people received bread.
Aid was distributed to 38 towns including:
5 frontline towns in the Donbas: Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, and Rodyn’ske.
Kherson Region: Kherson and the Beryslav District.
Kharkiv Region: Balakliya and Izyum.
Nikopol and Marhanets’.
In Kherson:
Disinfected 6 spaces.
Performed 11 equipment maintenance tasks.
73.6 tons of firewood delivered to 46 families in Sofiivka.
Oleksandr D’s Volunteer Networks
Oleksandr S (Boyarka): report for 2 weeks. Delivered 20 kg of honey to the volunteer association Sweet Bees to make energy bars for servicemen. Prepared a children's holiday with toys and sweets given out to 100 children and families in difficult life circumstances in Terny, Sumy Region. Also distributed toys at the Boyarka City Assistance Center. Delivered 20 packs of reusable diapers in Sumy to internally displaced people (IDPs) from frontline villages. Delivered 60 sets of diapers, 30 cans of baby formula, a box of disposable protective masks, and 5 boxes of sanitary pads from NGO Good Point to the Boyarka Adventist Humanitarian Headquarters for further distribution in the Kyiv Region.
Vladyslav K (Mykolaiv): delivered 35 tons of drinking water to Mykolaiv and 7 tons to Kherson.
Sandra S (Odesa): kitchen fed more than 500 people, then took a New Year’s break for part of the week.
Yuri S (Vinnytsia): took 50 kg of clothes and food to the Harmony Rehabilitation Center. Delivered toys and blankets to an orphanage in Stryzhavka (Vinnytsia Region). Took a disabled person to social rehabilitation.
Pavlo B (Zaporizhzhia): distributed aid and gifts to 90 people.
Vitaliy Z (Kharkiv): delivered 4 tons of humanitarian kits, clothes, medicine, and animal feed to Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka (Donetsk Region), which is almost destroyed. Evacuation was proposed. Brought 2 tons of aid to the village of Stavky (Lyman District). Delivered 180 tons of fuel briquettes to 600 households in Kramatorsk, Balakliia, and Lyman.
Oleksandr D (Lutsk): delivered 66.15 tons of fuel briquettes to 165 of the most needy families in the Kherson Region villages of Heolohiv, Zymivnyk, and Komyshany. After the tragic death of volunteer Artur Kucheryavenko in a drone attack in November, the volunteers have been issued Kevlar bulletproof vests. The large delivery trucks are also reloaded into smaller vehicles at some distance from the destination villages, since drones are more likely to target the larger vehicles.
Oleksandr Z (Lutsk): provided therapeutic interventions and aid to IDP children and adults and children with disabilities.
Held 2 art therapy sessions, for a total of 54 children.
Took 45 children to a performance, attended holiday events with 65 IDP children, and visited the theater and a charity concert in the museum with 106 IDPs.
Helped 240 IDPs and 60 children and young adult students with bread and other food.
Continued to conduct examinations and physiotherapy procedures (75 total) for IDPs from Donetsk and Kherson regions and preventive procedures for the recovery of children (15 total).
Tetiana’s Team – Dopomoha poruch (Help Is Near)
Distributed 100 aid packages in Krutoyarivka, on the border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Natasha’s Team – Volontersʹkyy tsentr Vyshnya (Cherry Volunteer Center)
210 packages delivered to Lyman, Zakitne, and Zarichne.
Timur’s Team — Komanda Teymura Alyeva (Timur Alyev’s Team)
Distributed 914 aid packages to the elderly and recent refugees.
In total for the year distributed aid to nearly 70,000 people.
Pavel and Olena’s Teams — Dotyk sertsya (Touch of Heart) & Svitanok mriy (Dawn of Dreams)
Vegetables distributed to 621 families in Opanasivka, Pravdyne, Prybuz’ke, and Shevchenkove.
Distributed New Year’s presents and children’s gift packages to 485 kids in 9 villages between Kherson and Mykolaiv.
Pomahaem Foundation (We Help Foundation)
24.5 tons of water delivered to Nikopol.
Provided aid to 91 families in Marhanets’.
Delivered 133 packages on two trips to frontline villages near Zaporizhzhia.
Marina’s Team — Daruy dobro Ukrayina (Give Good Ukraine)
150 food and hygiene packages were distributed to internally displaced individuals in Pyatikhatki.
Dina’s Team — Vilʹni lyudy, vilʹna krayina (Free People, Free Country)
Distributed 365 packages in Kremenchuk, Poltava, and Kanev.
Sponsored a holiday dinner at a soup kitchen in Kharkiv.
Distributed 468 packages of sweet treats to children in Kremenchuk.
Serhiy T traveled to Myrne, bringing a celebration and treats to 800 children.
Bohdan’s Team — Vse robymo sami (We Do Everything Ourselves)
43 families in Zhytomyr received food and hygiene kits.
Children participated in Christmas and New Year celebrations, receiving gifts and enjoying performances by volunteer artists.
Activities at the club continued, including the cooking club and psychological relief sessions for children.
Vse robymo sami ‘s Choir of Generations won first place at the Christmas Lviv festival.
Alena’s Team – Diva (Virgo)
Brought gifts and aid packages to 140 families in the Beryslav area.
Brought 17 generators to Beryslav.
Liza and Katya provided help to the hospital ward, treating 16 wounded people in Odesa.
How to Help
Donate — The money goes directly to teams providing aid on the ground, who respond dynamically to the most urgent needs.
Fundraise — Organize fundraisers at your school, work, place of worship, with friends and family, etc.
Spread the word — Share our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Fill out this form if you’re interested in volunteering with us, and we’ll let you know when opportunities come up.
Download and print our flyer. Ask your local coffee shop if you can add it to the bulletin, or use it as part of your fundraiser.