She has lived through two wars, personal loss, illness, and displacement. And she has met each chapter of her life with dignity.

Today, at 96 years old, Valentyna Yevstratieva lives quietly in Chernivtsi, Ukraine with her eldest daughter. She still embroiders by hand. She still greets each day with curiosity and gratitude. Her mind remains sharp, her smile gentle, her kindness inexhaustible.

Valentyna was born on January 31, 1929, in the town of Reshetylivka, Poltava region of Ukraine. In 1939, her family moved to Chernivtsi, Western Ukraine.

With the start of World War II, her family was forced to evacuate, and after the war ended, she returned to her hometown. Valentyna’s older brothers fought on the front lines, and her younger brother returned from the war disabled – he had lost a leg.

After finishing school, Valentyna enrolled at Chernivtsi State University, but due to chronic pneumonia, she transferred to the Simferopol Pedagogical Institute, where the climate was more favorable for her health. She was an excellent student, graduated with honors, and for her outstanding academic performance was assigned to work at a secondary school in Sevastopol – such an appointment was considered a real honor at the time.

In 1951, Valentyna married a naval officer. The couple raised two daughters, born in 1953 and 1960. After the sudden death of her husband in 1967, she was left alone with the children. In 1969, she moved with her daughters to Chernivtsi, where her older brothers lived.

For decades, Valentyna shaped young minds as a chemistry teacher in Chernivtsi. Her students remember her not only for her knowledge but for her rare combination of high standards and genuine warmth – a teacher who demanded excellence and offered kindness in equal measure.

Throughout her life she wrote poetry, translated literature, and had a great passion for the intricate art of cross-stitch embroidery. She never stopped creating.

Now, the rising cost of food, heating, and essential medical care has grown beyond what she can manage. Your support will help ensure that this extraordinary woman – who gave so much of her life to others – is met with the same care and dignity she always offered the world.

Valentyna's story is not just one woman's story. It is the story of countless seniors in Ukraine who are quietly struggling, far from the headlines, asking for very little and deserving so much more.

Together, we can make sure she knows she is not forgotten.

Despite her age and the war, Dominika Balaboyko works multiple jobs without days off. She is lively, energetic, and quick to laugh. Always dressed in jeans and sneakers, her long white hair tied in a ponytail, she looks youthful and full of life. She loves to read, knit and enjoys simple comforts, like drinking herbal tea. She does all her own home repairs – plastering, painting, fixing whatever needs fixing.

Dominika was born on May 26, 1936, in Chernivtsi, where she has spent her entire life working, caring, and persevering.

After completing seven years of school, at 17, she began weaving carpets at the Voskhod factory to support herself. She stayed for over thirty years. Later she found her way to the Chernivtsi Arts Center for Children and Youth, where she has worked ever since – both as a night watchwoman, and as a janitor, and always as the beating heart of the place. To everyone there, she is simply Aunt Dusya.

Once, when the Arts Center had no funds for repairs, Dominika climbed onto the roof herself to fix a broken downspout that was letting water seep into the building. She tied herself to the pipe and scaled the roof as people gathered below, astonished. She fixed it. She climbed back down. Just another day.

"I needed to hang a lampshade," she recalls with a laugh. "I asked a handyman how much he would charge. 'Two hundred hryvnias,' he said. I thought – I don't earn that much in a whole day! So I hung it myself. And that is how it is with everything."

But behind Dominika's extraordinary vitality lies a sorrow she carries quietly. Her husband died at just 37 from a heart defect, leaving her to raise two children alone. Today, both of those children are seriously ill – her 53-year-old son is battling stage-four cancer, and her 64-year-old daughter has breast cancer.

Work, for Dominika, is not just a livelihood. It is survival of a different kind.

"At work, I try to forget my grief," she says. "If I stayed at home, I think I would lose my mind."

In addition to the Arts Center, she cleans several restaurants to earn extra income – doing everything she can to support her sick children. Retirement has never been a concept she could imagine. "What would I do at home? Wash clothes, clean – and then what?"

Dominika believes the secret to her vitality is simple: "The main medicine for the body is constant movement. And you must be kind and never do harm to anyone." She often recalls her late mother's words: "If someone does you harm ten times, you should do good once."

People tell her: "Aunt Dusya, you are kind – that is why angels protect you and give you health."

It is hard to disagree.

Your support will help ease Dominika's burden – ensuring she and her family have access to food, essential medical care, and the basic necessities that her tireless work alone can no longer fully cover. She has spent a lifetime giving everything she has to others. Now it is our turn to stand with her.

We have received a request to support an elderly man in urgent need.

Vasyl is 71 years old and lives alone in a small, unheated home. His living conditions are extremely difficult - he relies on a single light bulb and a small electric heater, which consumes a great deal of electricity but is his only source of warmth. There is an old wood stove in the house, but without firewood, it cannot be used.

The cost of firewood is approximately $700, which is far beyond what he can afford.

Despite his own hardship, Vasyl is a deeply kind and compassionate soul. He cares for nearly 30 stray cats and dogs, feeding them and offering what shelter he can. Even in scarcity, he continues to give.

With the support of our community, we were able to cover his outstanding electricity debt. Now, we are coming together once more - this time to help provide firewood so he can safely and sustainably heat his home through the cold.

Your support will bring not only warmth, but dignity, safety, and relief.

If you feel called to help, we would be deeply grateful. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a meaningful difference.

Six families living on the ninth floor of an apartment building in Chernivtsi, Ukraine are facing serious hardship due to a severely leaking roof. Each time it rains or snow begins to melt, water pours into their homes - damaging ceilings, walls, and the few belongings they have left.

During wartime, the cost of major repairs has become overwhelming and out of reach. For at least one of these households, elderly residents are surviving on a pension that barely covers food, making any contribution toward repairs impossible.

These families are not asking for comfort - only for safety and stability. A repaired roof would protect six homes at once and prevent further damage during the cold and wet months ahead.

Your generous donation can help restore security, dignity, and peace of mind to these families. Together, we can ensure they are not left to face this alone.

Hleb was born in Ukraine on May 15, 2006, and was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder early in his childhood. This early diagnosis helped his family quickly understand the need for specialized education and upbringing for their curious and active boy. This meant a lot of dedication, including a special regimen of therapy, diet, exercise, and speech therapy.

Hleb's mother, Anastasia Aleksandrova, spent endless hours on self-education, tirelessly learning to understand the unique needs of her child. She poured all possible resources into providing every opportunity for his development. Throughout his school years, Anastasia worked relentlessly, advocating for Hleb to be accepted into a regular school environment, despite the country's limited infrastructure and systems to support special needs children in society.

Through many challenges, Hleb attended and completed high school according to his abilities. Anastasia consistently nurtured Hleb’s interests and natural skills to enhance his development, with the goal of helping him become as independent as possible so he could eventually provide for himself. Hleb attended after-school programs for music and dance, following his interests and passions. The family also actively involves him in many household duties, so he is learning essential life skills.

However, the war in Ukraine dramatically disrupted their lives, bringing continuous stress, fear for their lives, and blackouts. Anastasia, who is the sole breadwinner, is facing an additional crisis as her company announced a change of ownership, leading to her losing her job in a few months. She is also supporting her older son who is a full time student and her husband, who has been undergoing a rehabilitation program and unable to support the family for several years. With the added responsibility of caring for her elderly parents, it has become incredibly difficult to support the family overall and address Hleb’s specific needs.

Since Hleb completed high school last year, they have not yet been successful in finding a suitable educational institution for him to continue his development. Currently, the only viable options are private classes and courses. Hleb's beloved hobbies of playing the piano, dancing, and swimming remain vital opportunities for his continued growth. He still requires ongoing speech therapy, with a current focus on mastering correct sentence construction and confident communication with strangers.

For his professional development, Anastasia envisions specialized training in assembling electronic chips, or pursuing his aspiration to undergo training and work at McDonald's.

Though a young adult by age, Hleb still requires significant support to achieve maturity and self-sufficiency. Continued assistance for his education and professional development remains a critical need for this family, who are bravely navigating the horrific consequences of the war and striving to stay afloat.

We deeply appreciate your consideration and thank you for any support you can offer.

Paraskoviya Sharaburyak was born in 1952 in the beautiful mountain village of Biloberizka, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine. Her childhood was spent deep in the Carpathian Mountains, where life was tough and isolated. From a very young age, Paraskoviya worked hard in the fields, helping her family to survive. Winters in the mountains were long and bitterly cold, and she often had to work outside, which eventually took a toll on her health.

After finishing school, she spent most of her life working at a local factory. The work was extremely hard, and because there was no transportation, she often had to walk long distances to and from work. Years of physical labor left their mark - her joints began to ache while she was still young, but she continued working to support her family.

About ten years ago, Paraskoviya developed chronic inflammation in both knee joints, which gradually made walking impossible. Doctors recommended surgery, but her family simply couldn’t afford it. Over time, the disease spread further, and now the inflammation has reached her pelvic joints, causing constant pain and making even small movements extremely difficult.

Today, Paraskoviya lives in the village of Dzhuriv, Ivano-Frankivsk region. She can hardly leave her house and now moves around her home with the help of two wooden sticks. Her monthly pension is only about $80, which barely covers food and electricity. She often has to choose between buying bread or pain medicine.

Besides her joint disease, Paraskoviya also struggles with heart problems, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar levels. Every day she takes the cheapest painkillers available, because she can’t afford anything else, but they bring little relief.

Despite everything, Paraskoviya remains kind, humble, and hopeful.

Your support will help cover the rising cost of living that has grown beyond her reach - food, heating, and essential medical care. Most importantly, your support will bring her peace of mind in her later years, reminding her that she is not alone.

Oksana Yehorova has spent her life caring for those who have no one else - especially abandoned animals. Living in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, she has rescued and fed countless stray cats and dogs for years, offering them shelter, food, and compassion. When the war began and many families fled, the number of abandoned pets grew dramatically, but Oksana could not leave. Today, more than 25 cats and 10 dogs depend on her daily, waiting faithfully for the only person who has not abandoned them. Despite rising costs, worsening health, and extreme hardship, she continues to care for these vulnerable “little tails,” as she lovingly calls them. Even the smallest donation can help provide food and medicine for the animals whose survival depends entirely on her kindness.

Olena Fomenko is a 38-year-old single mother living in Kyiv, Ukraine, raising her 11-year-old daughter, Milana.

On May 28, 2025, a Shahed drone struck their residential building. The explosion shattered most window and caused severe damage to the upper floors. Since that day, their living conditions have deteriorated significantly, leaving the family vulnerable and struggling to restore even basic stability.

Olena lives with her retired parents. Her mother suffers from serious chronic health conditions. She has already undergone knee replacement surgery on one leg and urgently requires surgery on the other. However, due to the ongoing war, unstable security conditions, and hazardous circumstances, the procedure has been postponed indefinitely. She also lives with heart disease and depends on continuous medication. Her limited mobility prevents her from working. Olena’s father is also retired and relies solely on a modest pension.

Their combined pensions are not enough to cover basic living expenses. The family is struggling to afford medication, food, utilities, and essential needs.

Olena herself is currently unemployed. The library where she worked was forced to close, and finding new employment during wartime has proven extremely difficult. She has lived with asthma since childhood, and constant stress, cold temperatures, damp conditions, and repeated stays in shelters have significantly worsened her condition. She also suffers from advanced osteoarthritis in her right knee, causing chronic pain and limiting her physical ability to work.

Ongoing missile and drone attacks frequently force the family into damp basement shelters. Extended power outages leave them without electricity, heating, and sometimes running water. These harsh conditions have taken a toll on Milana’s health. She has begun falling ill more often and, following the drone strike, now struggles with severe anxiety and constant emotional stress.

This family is facing profound financial, medical, and psychological hardship.

Your support can help provide essential relief - covering medical expenses, basic living needs, and urgent assistance to help stabilize their daily life. Even a modest contribution can bring meaningful relief to a mother striving to protect her child and care for her aging parents in the midst of war.

Together, we can stand with Olena and her family during this difficult time.

Due to the war, many families are facing difficult circumstances and lack sufficient funds to support their households and basic needs. Among them is Nataliia Vernikovska and her family. Nataliia is a devoted mother of two boys, ages 13 and 15, and a caring daughter to an elderly mother who requires ongoing medical attention. Her husband has survived four heart attacks and lives with significant kidney and liver conditions, as well as diabetes, all of which demand continuous treatment and support.

Before the war, Nataliia worked as a graphic designer for an advertising services company - a job she truly loved. However, from the first days of the war, she lost her position and has been unable to find employment in her field since. Over the past several years, she has taken on multiple jobs in an effort to provide for her family, but despite her best efforts, meeting their basic needs has remained extremely challenging.

Driven by a deep passion for art and a desire to become a stronger provider for her loved ones, Nataliia hopes to build an independent livelihood by opening a small graphic design business. Her experience and skills would allow her to do so, but she currently lacks the necessary equipment to begin.

With great humility, she asks that her situation be considered, acknowledging the many pressing needs that others also face. If possible, she requests support to help her move forward.

Any donations would allow Nataliia to purchase essential equipment and start her own business:

1. GCC Jaguar J5-183SLX Vinyl Cutter with Optical Sensor

2. Canon imageRUNNER C3326i Printer

3. Dahle 867 Guillotine

Nataliia and her family express their heartfelt gratitude for any assistance offered, and for the hope and new opportunities such generosity brings.