Article
Young volunteers help keep hope alive for families in Ukraine
Every day, 17-year-old Anastasia reaches out to hundreds of families who have been affected by the war in Ukraine, providing support and warm winter clothing. She volunteers as part of a programme that distributes clothing and blankets to vulnerable families. “We assist in the areas where it is most needed People ...
Article
Young volunteers stitch new hope in Ukraine
Seventeen-year-old Ariadna from the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol is thinking back to the day when she decided to start volunteering. Active hostilities had started in her hometown with the outbreak of the full-scale war. Life had become loud and scary, and her family took to living in the basement for ...
Article
Teenagers fleeing war find peace in volunteering project
Across war-torn Ukraine, scores of children and their families are trying to adapt to their tragic new reality. For many, this is far away from home. 15-year-old Maria from Mariupol 15-year-old Maria from Mariupol With a little help, 15-year-old Maria is getting used to her new life in Chernivtsi, after fleeing M...
Article
Youth volunteer to support vulnerable in Ukraine
Natalia Kalantaienko, 20, has lived through a year of war in her home city of Konotop, in the Sumy region of Ukraine. In an effort to help save lives, she has been volunteering with the Ukrainian Voluntary Service NGO. Even at the height of the violence, amid power outages, air raids and explosions, Natalia did no...
Article
Advice for volunteers feeling strain in Ukraine
Since the full-scale war broke out in Ukraine in February, violence has devastated millions of lives. However, there is hope for the future – a new survey from U-Report and the Ukrainian Volunteer Service (UVS) has shown that legions of volunteers are fighting back, with one in every three people stepping up to he...
Article
What are the benefits of being a volunteer and should they be rewarded?
To mark Volunteer Day (5 December), U-Report and Building Ukraine Together, which creates opportunities for young people to make a difference through volunteering, asked 3 843 respondents from all regions of Ukraine about these potential benefits. Do they exist? And when is the right time for young people to engag...
Article
Vlogging classes help children escape horrors of the war
At UNICEF's Spilno Child Spot in Ternopil, social workers are conducting video blogging and sound-recording classes to help children cope with the war. Friends 12-year-old Nastya and 13-year-old Sofia manage a blog on Tiktok. Friends 12-year-old Nastya and 13-year-old Sofia manage a blog on Tiktok. "I make videos...
Blog post
“There are always people, who need help… and there is always someone who can give it!”
When the war in Ukraine started, it was quite a challenge to both save yourself and help people around you. But that’s when we realized how strong our nation is. Everyone is doing their best, whether it’s a brave volunteer, a doctor, an entrepreneur or anybody else trying hard not to stop creating new ways and opp...
Article
“I help the children, and they help me”
As a child, Tetiana Hatsenko, 23, spent hours at the sports stadium in Sloviansk, practising gymnastics. It was there that her love for health and well-being was born. Today, though, it has been reduced to ruins. “The place where I had my most vivid childhood memories is now a bomb crater,” says Tetiana, sadly. Te...
Blog post
Young volunteers scramble to save animals in Ukraine
Hi there, we are a, Red, Dog team 🧡🐶 The victims of the war in Ukraine are not only people, but also animals. Pets are just as afraid of the sounds of explosions and gunfire as we are. Some, unfortunately, do not manage to survive it. Also, many animals in the frontline regions have lost their owners. The pets who got used to warmth and feeding routines have ended up…, Meet Major, Our project started with his story. If Major could talk, this is w...
Blog post
“As we help teenagers, we motivate others to do good deeds"
Hi there! My name is Veronika Sosnich and I want to help teenagers from different parts of Ukraine! I was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Together with my team of friends, I undertake projects with the aim of helping teenagers at critical moments of their lives. We are teenagers and know what problems youth can face in society. So we decided to help…, Over 50 participants visited our camp. Here’s the feedback we received:, "I want to say a big thank yo...
Blog post
“We prove to people that happiness is in the simplest things”
Hi there! I am Maria Pylypiv, founder of the Fira project. My team is Oksana Pylypiv, Daria Hryvnak and Natalia Pylypiv. We come from the small town of Rohatyn, in the west of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, we have tried to help those who needed it – we volunteered, organized charity fairs, screened movies at the youth centre and…, Our first trip, On 7 August, we planned to make our first trip. Our team was very anxious to make sure ev...