International expert club and rating agency "ElitExpert" decided to support humanitarian and volunteer organizations of the Odesa region in the difficult times of the new national war, when people are already tired of helping others.
To draw society's attention to the volunteer movement again, from August 1 to 15 online public voting was held on the website of the National Rating Platform for the best benefactors and volunteers of the Odesa region, the list of which was previously compiled by the International Expert Club, the rating agency "ElitExpert" and independent experts.
It is important to note that all the organizations presented in the list are already winners, because of the many applicants, only those humanitarian organizations whose history is completely transparent and unquestionable, and whose current activities motivate and inspire society in conditions of war, entered the rating.
But, nevertheless, the organizing committee gave the right to determine the best of the best to the Ukrainians themselves - to choose those whom they trust the most.
These results are in front of you.
Separately, the International Expert Club and rating agency "ElitExpert" sincerely thanks for the help in compiling the rating and comprehensive informational support to Telegram channels "Odesa as it is", "Odesa Course", "Odesa Info", "Odesa without censorship", "Overheard Odesa", online publications "Odesa Online", "Wave cutter" etc.
First place won by a clear margin in the popular vote Charitable Foundation "Keep". Note that this is a very young fund, which was formed only after the start of a full-scale war.
According to Yulia Fedorova, the founder of the fund, it all started with the Telegram channel "Mutual Aid 7:40", which she and her friends created on the third day of the war. The idea of the chat was for people who want to help and people who need help to find each other - this is what later grew into the "Hold" charitable foundation.
Within a week, the chat turned into a community of several hundred people who constantly communicated with each other and supported each other: they brought food, medicine, helped to get to Odessa, or looked for equipment for the military. Then sponsors from various countries began to come: Germany, Poland, Australia, Israel, etc.
The fund helps defenders at the front, displaced people, single mothers, large families, the elderly, as well as homeless animals and shelters. By this time, BF "Keep" has already helped several thousand people.
Second place - у Charitable Foundation "South Bank" Natalia Kartasheva (Pranzhu).
Natalya became a volunteer in April 2014, when loyal Ukrainian servicemen left Crimea and arrived in Odesa. The military left everything there: houses, apartments, belongings, and in Odessa they needed almost everything, down to socks.
"I saw the news on Facebook that the boys needed things, collected what I could and brought them to our soldiers and their homelands. That's how my volunteering started," says Natalia.
The peak of the fund's activity was in 2014-2016, then the situation with the support of the army stabilized and there was no longer a great need for volunteers. But after February 24, unfortunately, the fund had to open a second wind.
As before, the main direction of the fund is assistance to the Armed Forces. For a long time, the Foundation cooperates with the Marine Border Detachment, Izmail border guards, as well as with the 35th and 36th brigades, which are on the front line, in the Kherson direction.
"I've known the boys since 2014, and just kidding, I started my volunteering with them, and I want to end it with them, having provided them with everything I need," emphasizes Nataliya.
On the third line Ukrainians put the rating Charitable Foundation "Monsters Corporation" — an organization that needs no introduction. The fund, managed by Kateryna Nozhevnikova, is known and appreciated throughout Ukraine, and thousands of saved people almost pray for the fund's workers.
The organization began its existence with a group of caring citizens from the Odesa Forum in 2014. Since that time, the fund has always been at the point of attack - displaced persons, ATO soldiers, expensive operations for seriously ill children, disabled people, lonely pensioners... But "Monsters Corporation" really earned great respect and general trust in 2020-2021 with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic - last but not least, it was the selfless activity of the foundation that saved the Odessa health care system from collapse in the first waves of the pandemic.
Therefore, it is a rare case! — the activity of the fund is also noticed by the state. Kateryna Nozhevnikova is now an honorary citizen of the Odesa region, the president awarded her the Order of Princess Olga, and any political party dreams of seeing her in its ranks.
Fourth place — at a young man Charitable fund "Odesa Course". There are three founders of the fund - Victor Pantyuk, the owner of a wholesale company and the official representative of a number of brands in Ukraine, Valery Povolotskyi, an Odesa entrepreneur and public figure, and Tetyana Borysova, an assistant producer of online courses. Before the start of the full-scale invasion, they did not know about each other's existence, but after February 24, the desire to help the defenders of the country brought them together in the Kurs Odesa telegram channel, which resulted in hundreds of good deeds.
The founders emphasize that at first they did not even intend to officially register - they thought they would help now, and the war would soon end there. But it was not destined.
Mykolaiv is a separate area of their work. Together with the Mykolaiv military administration, the foundation helped to evacuate tens of thousands of people from Mykolaiv. In addition, in connection with the catastrophic situation with sweat water in the city, more than 100 tons of water were transferred there.
On the the fifth step of the rating the Ukrainians put Charitable Foundation "Platinum Dobro Ukraine".
Already a few days after the start of the Russian invasion, a volunteer center was opened on the territory of the "Platinum avto" car showroom, the main purpose of which was to provide emergency and comprehensive assistance on the day of the application. No red tape, just a letter application. Members of the organization collect food, clothes, shoes, diapers, formula for the smallest, help displaced people, pregnant women, families with many children, and families with disabled children.
The members of the foundation are proud of the fact that on July 1 they distributed more than 288 tons of humanitarian aid to 20 people.
Sixth place - u Advocate volunteer centerу at the Council of Advocates of Odesa Region.
Having started its activities as an aid to lawyers called to the ranks of the Armed Forces, the center gradually expanded its activities, providing support to veterans of the legal profession, families with children, internally displaced persons, hospitals and military units. The center provides free legal assistance, the center's volunteers prepare food for the military, carry out fire and tactful training of lawyers, form and deliver food kits, medicines, and provide financial assistance.
Out of almost 3500 lawyers who have a registered workplace in the Odesa region, 167 actively work in and for the center.
As the volunteer lawyers themselves note, they have been living and sleeping with phones in their hands and working 24/7 for many months.
Seventh place sowing BF "Dream of Free People". This is also a very young organization that was formed in the Suvoriv district of Odessa only after the beginning of the invasion on February 24
In the first days of the war, when everyone was in a state of confusion and uncertainty, residents of the village of Kotovskyi and nearby areas voluntarily gathered on the territory of the "City Center" shopping center and promptly began preparations for the defense of Odessa. They prepared "Molotov cocktails", formed patrols, fought against looting - stood guard side by side with law enforcement agencies.
People began to demolish them humanitarian aid, which they sorted and sent to our fighters at the front lines and checkpoints.
As a result, all this resulted in one of the largest volunteer organizations in Odesa, which has about 130 volunteers. All of them were people of different professions before the war: teachers, philologists, artists, psychologists, accountants, entrepreneurs, builders, drivers, cinematographers... Today, they are all united by a common goal and do one thing - bring Ukraine closer to Victory.
On the eighth place online users put Volunteer headquarters "Odesa as it is" — an organization that grew out of the popular Telegram channel of the same name with over three hundred thousand subscribers.
As Maksym Dibrov, head of the headquarters, says, "at first there were messages in our Telegram channel from people who needed help and from those who could provide this help. Then we realized that this is exactly what Odessans lack now. Within 5-6 hours I was contacted by the Ukrainian Navy and asked to collect drinking water for the victims near the military port. On the first day alone, the Headquarters managed to collect 8 tons of water, and on the second day, in addition to water, we already collected hygiene products and products."
Currently, the volunteers of "Odesa as it is" help displaced people and refugees. The Headquarters says: they chose this direction because during the war it was possible to establish a good supply of food, clothing, medicine, hot meals, etc.
Currently, more than 120 volunteers work at the Headquarters, and 200 to 300 displaced persons apply there every day.
The ninth line seed rating Charity Foundation "Odesa Breeze".
Since the beginning of March, this fund has been helping to strengthen Odesa checkpoints, and since the first days of the invasion, it has been buying essential products that were delivered to Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
Currently, members of the foundation help displaced people from other cities with relocation and housing; purchase the necessary ammunition for TRO and the Armed Forces (everything except weapons): these are helmets, protection, bags, sleeping bags, body armor, etc.; saves the lives of the wounded, providing them with medicine and psychological support, daily delivers humanitarian aid to military hotspots in Mykolaiv Oblast.
Closes the first one the top ten the best volunteers and benefactors according to the version of online users World central kitchen.
Note that this is not an Odesa organization, but an international humanitarian organization that provides people with free hot meals and food during natural disasters, epidemics, and military conflicts. But we decided to add them to the list, since the organization has been working very successfully in the Odesa region since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
World Central Kitchen feeds hot food to our soldiers, medics, TRO fighters, rescuers and ordinary people who suffered from war.
The founder of the organization, chef Jose Andres, personally visits Ukrainian cities and distributes food. Subsequently, in Odesa, along with Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro and other cities, a decision was made to produce food kits for people who need it.
He opens the second ten charity Fund «Unlimited possibilities» businessman and philanthropist Yuri Degas. It was his company that opened a modern inclusive beach in Odesa last June, where the entire area is adapted to the needs of people with limited physical capabilities.
Before the war, the foundation was engaged in helping the disabled, but after February 24, like many others, it expanded the scope of its activities to include displaced persons and military personnel.
In addition, the foundation successfully conducts a program of humanitarian assistance to the needy in the city of Mykolaiv and the region - firstly, because Mykolaiv is protecting the entire south and deterring the enemy, and secondly, it is the hometown of the foundation's founder.
12 place — at a public organization "Faith Hope Love".
This is an organization with a long history, and unlike the ones listed above, the main areas of its work are prevention and providing help and support to people living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as rehabilitation of girls and young women who have suffered from various forms of violence; psychological and legal counseling of victims of domestic violence. In addition, the organization advises and conducts meetings and seminars on the prevention of human trafficking, identification of victims and assistance to victims of such trafficking.
During the war, the organization continues to do the same with the correction for wartime: all the more so because the problem has grown several times - the number of Ukrainians, in particular Ukrainian children, forcibly taken to Russia, is already measured in the tens of thousands.
On the 13th line popular vote - Charitable Foundation "Caritas Odesa UGCC", which was founded back in 2005 and is part of one of the largest international networks of charitable organizations in Europe and the world.
The "Caritas" network has more than 115 years of history and unites 165 national organizations from 200 countries of the world, regardless of religion.
Currently, the work of the foundation in Odesa is focused on 4 directions: health care; assistance to children, youth and families in crisis; social problems of migration; working with the consequences of the humanitarian crisis.
For more than 15 years, the foundation has been taking care of single elderly people in the "Home care" program, providing support to HIV-infected adults and children. Since 2009, he has been engaged in the fight against human trafficking and the reintegration of victims of this crime. In addition, the foundation conducts active educational activities, which makes it possible not only to work with the consequences, but also to prevent the spread of problems in Ukrainian society.
On the 14th place the participants of the popular vote put Charitable Foundation "Path to Home".
Like their colleagues above, the Foundation provides social assistance to women and children affected by domestic violence or to persons who find themselves in difficult life circumstances. Now, in connection with the hostilities, the foundation also sends humanitarian aid to the front, and most importantly, it provides temporary shelter to refugees with children from the occupied territories and to persons suffering from domestic violence. People are accommodated in their own shelter called "House of Volunteer Assistance "Path to Home".
In addition, the organization provides assistance in the form of food packages to low-income migrant families who have settled in the rural areas of the Odesa region, and to the families of fallen soldiers.
Currently, 2045 families forcibly resettled from territories where hostilities are currently or have been conducted are under the care of the fund.
15 place - at a public organization "New life". Christian mission "New Life" for 11 years has been working with people without a certain place of residence and those who have become hostages of circumstances. For most of the wards of the shelter, the mission became the last hope for survival, where they found a roof over their heads, food, comfort and just human treatment.
In Odesa, there are four shelters for broken families, disabled people of the 1st and 2nd categories, and elderly people left to fend for themselves. In total, 187 people live in shelters, 43 of them are disabled people who need constant care.
Since the beginning of the war, the organization opened the project "Helping refugees during military aggression" and every week took mothers with children and elderly people to the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Also, since the beginning of the war, the Mission has provided assistance to people affected by the war in the form of humanitarian kits and first aid items. Tens of thousands of residents of small towns across the country and the most affected cities (Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv) receive daily assistance.
On the 16 place rating of the best - Volunteer center "Moms of Odessa".
Volunteers of the organization help single mothers, large families, people with disabilities and displaced people who are forced to leave their homes by the war.
Since the first day of the war, the center has already provided assistance to more than 3600 families.
But the main direction of the foundation's work, as is clear from its name, is still children.
"We emphasize children, because they are the future of our Ukraine, because you cannot say to a child: "Sorry, there is a war, today you will go without dinner", because you cannot feed a newborn with boiled potatoes, but you need a special mixture for feeding" - they say about volunteers their activities.
17 place sowing Charitable Foundation "European foundation for Ukraine".
Even on the first day of the war, on February 24, its founder, investigative journalist Hryhoriy Kozma, handed over two of his own armored cars worth more than $20 to the Armed Forces.
For several years, the founder of the Foundation was an adviser to the Chairman of the Galatsi Municipality (Romania), therefore he established fruitful cooperation with European partners. During the first two months of the war, almost 10 flights were made to the humanitarian hubs of Romania via the Isaccia-Orlivka crossing. The total amount of aid provided to Ukrainians during this period amounted to more than 100 euros.
At the moment, the Charitable Fund "European Foundation for Ukraine" is involved in the implementation of the USAID project "Strengthening Public Trust" (UCBI III) for the construction of shelters (places where people who left their homes as a result of the war temporarily live) in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
Eighteenth place got in the rating Charity fund "Native Shore".
This fund, founded by politicians Mykhailo Pozhivanov and Oleg Radkovsky, differs from others in that it is closely intertwined with the party structure of the "Batkivshchyna" VO.
For the delivery and coordination of humanitarian aid flows from Europe, a Hub was created in Odesa, and storage facilities were found. The fund also has its own freight transport, which is necessary for the delivery of products to Odesa and its distribution among the communities of the region.
Currently, "Native Shore" receives and delivers medical equipment, drugs and medicines, hygiene products and food products to the communities of Odesa.
The fund also helps our defenders in the Armed Forces with food products and solves some complex technical support needs for the fighters.
In addition, thanks to the French Embassy, the foundation received funding for a program to provide people with hot lunches. Every day, 1900 residents of Odesa and Odesa district receive hot meals.
On the nineteenth place the Ukrainians put BF "Noble Matter".
The founder of the organization, entrepreneur Serhiy Shutov, in addition to his main work, before the war was engaged in mass social events for children from shelters and poor families.
But after the start of a full-scale war, he began to engage in volunteerism and charity on a larger scale.
In a few days, he converted his own sewing studios to work with heavy fabric, and there they began to sew tactical first-aid kits, plate carriers and uniforms for the Armed Forces and Teroboron. Currently, in addition to helping the military with uniforms and ammunition, the fund helps pensioners, low-income people and immigrants. Most of them are food and basic necessities.
twentieth place according to the vote of online users, took Support fund for citizens of Odesa "You - Ukraine". The activity of this fund started back in 1992 and it became one of the first ones created in Odesa after independence. At one time, the foundation provided free children's meals to schools and kindergartens in the city, then it was mainly engaged in the field of medicine, now, during the war, the foundation acquired a second lease of life, supplemented its philosophy.
Currently, the fund unites various volunteer organizations into a joint Hub — a modern and very effective mechanism for helping the entire south of the country.
One of the "features" of the fund is medicines, backpacks for paramedics and tactical first-aid kits, as well as mental health: the team provides psychological help to everyone who needs it.
Even at the beginning of the war, the organization signed a memorandum with small foundations and volunteer organizations that had just been formed - the "You Ukraine" foundation took them under its wing and helps them with humanitarian goods. Thus, the net and geography of aid becomes much larger.
With a complete list of the best humanitarian organizations and volunteers of the Odesa region, you can get familiar on the website of the National Rating Platform.
