The story of Ukraine Charity begins in 2007, when a small group of Ukrainian professionals from London visited an orphanage in Lviv, western Ukraine. It was almost Christmas, and the cold winter was setting in. They saw that the orphanage was in dire need of repairs and lacking even the most basic supplies, leaving the children without proper means to learn and play.
Greatly affected by what they saw, on their return to London, the group told their friends and colleagues about the struggling orphanage. A collection was started, and tediously, through small cash donations, funds were raised and physically taken to Ukraine, where local builders were employed to renovate the orphanage. The staff and the children were delighted with the results.
The fundraisers, however, realised that with organisation, creativity and hard work, more effective fundraising could be set up for future projects. With some pro bono legal help and strategy brainstorming, Ukraine Charity was conceived, and the rest is history.
The idea of Ukraine Charity was simple – to enable and facilitate fundraising for those based in the United Kingdom and willing to help people in need in Ukraine, particularly children.
Before the charity was established, many of our donors supported projects in Ukraine on an ad hoc basis. Ukraine Charity brought these efforts of many kind-hearted people under one roof, facilitated idea sharing and made the fundraising and project implementation streamlined and efficient.
From the beginning, Ukraine Charity has been run entirely by volunteers through late-night coffee shop get-togethers, emails and phone calls. We have no staff or office space, and we pride ourselves on our volunteer culture, which allows the full positive impact of the funds we raise to be felt by those in Ukraine who need our help most.
Over the years, Ukraine Charity has been fortunate to benefit from the contributions of many volunteers and donors. Help has come in various forms – from pro bono legal work, consulting or photography to logo and website design, project and event management, donation of valuable auction items, and more.
There is a core team that contributes on a regular and consistent basis, and these people are the backbone of Ukraine Charity. The current active team comprises Halyna Samchuk, Natalya Romanovych (Trustee), Oleksiy Soroka, Iryna Zeldes Le Broussois (Trustee), Artem Shyrokozhukov (Trustee), Oleksii Serb (Trustee), Maia Habruk. The team has evolved, and we welcome new volunteers who want to join.
Iryna Zeldes Le Broussois 
Oliver North 
