At Our Home Ukraine, we carry out our mission by delivering essential and unique support to the residents of Izmail and rural communities within the Odesa Oblast. We are dedicated to fostering resilience and improving the quality of life for those in need through the following social service programs: Food Distribution, Village Family Assistance, and Widow Support & Summer Camp.
In 2024, Our Home Ukraine distributed 19,984 food packages to those in need. This year, we expanded our program, adding 169 new recipients to meet growing community demands. We provided 1,852 monthly food packages to support 469 elderly and/or disabled individuals.
Through our Village Family Assistance program, we delivered 1,094 personalized aid packages to forty-nine families, meeting their unique needs. This year, we expanded our reach to the following villages: Petrovirivka, Shabo, Sofiyivka, Vygon, Matroska, Broska, Kam’yanka, Saf’yany, Kyslytsya, Pryozerne, and Utkonosivka.
In February, we launched our bread assistance program, providing 1,412 loaves of bread to four families, totaling nineteen people.
Additionally, seventeen participants attended Our Home Ukraine’s summer camp on the beautiful southern shores of the Black Sea. We also provided comprehensive support to 26 widows and their families, adding seven new families to our support list since 2023.
As part of our commitment to individualized care, we offered financial relief for 20 children and seniors, covering their essential medical needs. Our foundation played a key role in securing placement for an 8-year-old boy with a rare genetic disorder at a specialized care facility, thanks to the support of our partners at Friends of Be an Angel.
Our Home Ukraine aims to empower children by offering access to arts and culture, STEM programs, and connections to global communities. We are committed to laying the groundwork for a thriving new generation of Ukrainians, fostering their growth and potential for a prosperous future through the following programs: Arts & Culture, Education, and Jewish Causes.
Throughout the year, Our Home Ukraine hosted eight cultural excursions with 393 participants. Despite the hardships of living in a war-torn country, we ensured that children of IDPs and those in rural villages had access to vital cultural institutions.
OHU believes all children should have the right to learn in a comfortable and safe environment with the necessary tools. As such, OHU provided new classroom furniture and/or school supplies and sports uniforms to the following educational institutions: Izmail Educational and Rehabilitation Center, Petrovirivka Boarding School, Petrovirivka Lyceum, Petrovirivka Kindergarten, and Odesa Lyceum no. 94. Additionally, OHU supplied winter coats to the full-time residents of the Petrovirivka Boarding School and donated new washers and dryers to its administration, ensuring the comfort and cleanliness of all the students.
In December, OHU launched its inaugural laptop program, supplying the Petrovirivka Boarding School with 40 recycled and up-to-date laptops to further 80 children’s access to STEM education.
Through our Jewish Causes program, we supported twenty-five small Jewish communities in the Dnipro, Kyiv, and Cherkasy regions with bi-monthly grants for groceries, medicine, utilities, and High Holiday celebrations. We continued our support for Mishpacha Children’s Home by providing a grant to cover the salaries of staff and teachers. Additionally, we sponsored a Rosh Hashanah celebration for the children at Odesa Lyceum No. 94 and honored Jewish Memorials in Izmail by having our staff lay flowers.
At Our Home Ukraine, we empower Ukrainians and those who work towards Ukraine’s freedom by providing critical assistance where it is most needed. We expand access to medical care, safety measures, and foundational resources for reconstruction through the following programs: Medical Aid, Firefighters, Emergency Refuge, and Ukraine Reconstruction.
Through our partnership with Operation White Stork, we delivered 2,707 Individual First Aid Kits (IFAKs) directly to frontline soldiers. We also supported seven critical response units by delivering all requested items, including a case evac vehicle, generators, oxygen tanks, specialized medical supplies, medications, and armored blankets. Additional items included thermal wear, Starlinks, helmets, dry suits, sleeping bags, and bulletproof vests.
We continued assisting firefighters by delivering 27 pallets of essential gear split between two units in Kherson and Kamianets-Podilskyi. OHU also expanded its assistance to UKRposhta by providing their delivery drivers with JAMMERS, ensuring the safe transport of food, medicine, and social security checks to frontline villages.
In April, 120 bomb shelter backpacks were assembled and distributed to students at the Petrovirivka Lyceum. This initiative was repeated in September and October when we provided the Petrovirivka Boarding School with 90 bomb shelter backpacks and 40 comforters to help equip their bomb shelters.
In October, our team responded to the attack on Izmail and covered the medical bills for a family whose home had been destroyed. We continue to support them while they rebuild their lives. Additionally, we supported families by providing them with building materials, like doors and windows, to fix the damage to their homes.
At Our Home Ukraine, we value advocating for Ukraine within the United States by raising awareness about the ongoing war and fostering a deep sense of solidarity. We support social, cultural, and charitable initiatives and actively engage in educational seminars, international conferences, and cross-border projects in Ukraine and the U.S. through the following programs: Ukrainian Diaspora Support and Veterans.
Our Home Ukraine is committed to building relationships with our trusted partners in the diaspora. In 2024, we partnered with SaveUkraine and Bring Kids Back UA in their efforts to raise awareness of stolen Ukrainian children. We continued supporting St. Nicholas Cathedral School’s ELS program and built a relationship with the Brotherhood of St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Catholic Church.
To commemorate and acknowledge the second year of war in Ukraine, our team ran multiple campaigns to raise awareness and donations for our partners at Operation White Stork. During her visit to the United States, we hosted an intimate gathering between Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer, and Chicago Council on Global Affairs members. We also hosted a Big Table Dinner for CMP’s Doc 10 Series in support of Ukrainian Impact Films “Porcelain War” (Oscar Nominated) and the animated short “Mariupol. A Hundred Nights.”
In May, we partnered with the Veterans Student Network at the University of Chicago to host Maria Berlinska, a Ukrainian veteran and drone educator. We later worked with Maria’s organization, Dignitas, to provide Ukrainian veterans with educational and work opportunities after serving. Our commitment to veterans can also be seen through our ongoing support for the VetVoice Foundation and the Chicago Association of Veterans of WWII. In November, we hosted a luncheon honoring veterans and holocaust survivors at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.
Additionally, we supported Revived Soldiers Ukraine, an organization that helps Ukrainian soldiers with critical amputations receive prosthetic fittings and rehabilitation.
OHU is steadfast in supporting Ukrainian History and its current documentation through its support of the Ukrainian Genocide Famine Foundation and Yahad in Unum’s investigation of war crimes being committed in Ukraine.
