Civil society and volunteers are a driving force for change in the country in peacetime, and even more in wartime. At the same time, they play an important role in overcoming the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

The full-scale invasion of Russia proved how vital it is to consolidate the whole society. And it is impossible to overestimate the contribution of volunteering to effective and coordinated assistance to the military and civilians.

That is why, in order to promote sustainable development of the potential of volunteer groups and popularise volunteering in Ukraine, East Europe Foundation has implemented the program “Strengthening Influencers: Working for Peace” (shortly known as Spilnodiia).

Within the framework of the Programme, 16 small grants were awarded to civil society organisations engaged in volunteering. Each project is special, with its own goals and philosophy. During the period of the Programme implementation, dozens of trainings for volunteers and several retreats were held, methodological materials for creating a volunteer fire brigade in one’s own community were developed, etc.

The experience of each of the Civil Society Organisations that participated in the Spilnodiia Program is unique. We are going to share the stories of the five participating organisations with the hope that they will serve as a good example not only for us, but also for other volunteer groups. 

Author of the texts – Yulia Hudozhnyk

The materials were prepared as part of the Spilnodiia Program, executed by East Europe Foundation in partnership with the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research and NGO Together Against Corruption with financial support from the European Union.

The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the position of the partner organisations of the consortium and the European Union.