The future of Ukraine depends on volunteer projects. Join us and change the world together!

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, an incredible thing has happened: a wave of volunteer communities and projects has swept across the country. Our database alone now contains 715 different aid initiatives. Some of them existed before February 2022, while others emerged in response to the invasion. But have you ever wondered how these projects truly impact people's lives and whether they can really change anything?

Stories from volunteer practice often resemble movie plots: chance encounters, small acts of kindness that change lives. Someone finds new friends, someone finds meaning in helping others. One person helping another is like lighting a candle, gradually making the world a brighter place.

These small acts, which at first glance seem insignificant, ultimately come together to form a vast movement of goodness. Volunteers build bridges between people, uniting them with the common goal of making the world a better place. This is where their power lies: every contribution, and every good deed is a step toward great good that changes destinies and creates a future.

So what happens when volunteers get to work? They don't just get things done; they create miracles. They restore people's hope and give them the strength to fight and believe in better days. Yes, these projects really do change lives and impact reality, proving that small acts can be the source of great good.

Online volunteering is also volunteering

The «Napryamok» project started at the beginning of the war. Initially managed by a team from Belarus, it soon involved Russians and Ukrainians as well. «Napryamok» is a website that gathers information for those displaced and those who have lost their homes.

Volunteers collected and updated information, ensuring that people in stressful and sometimes dangerous situations could visit the site and immediately get the help they needed.

They monitored foreign government websites, wrote to universities offering special programs for refugees, and studied social media projects to ensure their reliability. In the early days, the site had 40,000 daily visitors finding information on legalisation in other countries and advice on how to behave during air raids.

Anton, the administrator of «Napryamok», shared, «It makes me happy that by working on the site, I can help my friends solve their issues: finding jobs, applying for financial aid, or obtaining antidepressants. It also gives me peace of mind that I am constantly involved in helping those affected by the war, knowing the amount of aid being provided, and often just connecting those in need with those offering help».

«Napryamok» is now unavailable as the urgent need for it has passed. But it remains an example of how you can help without leaving your home. The key is to be attentive and want to make the world better.

There are no small deeds

In gratitude, they are brought homemade cookies, and they pet stray cats between packing boxes of food. This is how the days and weekends of Volunteers Tbilisi go by. After the war began, they helped refugees from Ukraine in Georgia. Over time, humanitarian aid for remote villages and a social canteen were added to housing assistance.

The «Imedi» nursing home has existed for ten years and is funded solely by donations from compassionate individuals and relatives of the residents. There are about 50 residents, the oldest being 86 years old. When volunteers bring them meals, it meets a real need for these elderly people.

Volunteers in Tbilisi provide targeted help – the kind that anyone can offer. They collect food, cook in the canteen, serve portions to those in need, and teach children to cut out cardboard sheep. It may seem like small acts, but they impact people's lives – and that's the essence of volunteering.

Not wanting to stand aside, those in need often become volunteers themselves. Recently, we shared stories of girls from Eastern Ukraine who joined the effort: «You won't see money or fame in volunteering, but sometimes it's easily compensated by the grateful smile of an old man to whom you gave a wool blanket, knowing he won't freeze tonight».

Why volunteer?

To help a woman who has lost her home. To give a child who can no longer go to school a chance at a future. To hear a sincere «Thank you» that can replace dozens of medals or honours. We have gathered reliable initiatives that need various kinds of help – find what resonates with your heart. Let them say «Thank you» to you too.

Reshim thanks volunteer Sasha for preparing this article.