Q3 2025 Report

Q3 2025 Activity Report

Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv Charitable Foundation

July – September 2025  |  chervona-kalyna.org

 

Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city — and one of the closest to the front line. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in the Kharkiv region. Many arrived with nothing. Some are elderly and alone. Some are children who have never known a life without air raid sirens.

Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv (“Red Viburnum Kharkiv”) is a Ukrainian charitable foundation working every day to make sure these people are not forgotten. This report covers our work from July through September 2025.

 

Keywords: Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv · humanitarian aid Ukraine · IDP support Kharkiv · donate Ukraine charity · volunteer Kharkiv 2025

 

About the Foundation

Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv is a registered Ukrainian charitable organisation (BO «Blahodiynyi fond «Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv») operating since 2022. We run a daily community kitchen, distribute food packages, provide free legal aid, organise activities for displaced children, and support Ukrainian soldiers defending the region.

Our work is driven entirely by volunteers and made possible through partnerships with Ukrainian and international organisations.

 

Who We Help

Behind every number in this report is a person — someone who left home with a bag of essentials and an uncertain future. In Q3 2025, Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv supported:

• Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from front-line communities including Dvorichanska and Kupyanska — people who fled shelling and are rebuilding their lives in Kharkiv.
• Elderly people living alone in shelters — those who are cut off from family and depend on volunteers for daily meals and human connection.
• Families with children — kids who have grown up under the sound of air raid sirens, and who need creativity, play, and a sense of normalcy.
• Children with special needs — including children with Down syndrome, who receive not only material support but genuine care and attention from our team.
• Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and blood donors — the people holding the line every single day.
• Villagers across the Kharkiv region who host displaced families and donate produce from their own gardens to our community kitchen.

 

What We Do

• Food distribution — weekly food packages for IDPs and vulnerable residents
• Community Kitchen (“Kitchen of Kindness”) — hot meals prepared and served daily
• Free legal consultations — helping IDPs navigate documents, social payments, and legal protection
• Children’s programmes — art therapy, creative workshops, holiday events
• Outreach to villages — field trips to deliver aid and collect donations for the kitchen
• Military support — meals and handmade camouflage nets for soldiers
• New in Q3: daily hot meals for elderly IDPs living alone in shelters

 

Q3 2025: Three Months of Work

July 2025

July was a month of uninterrupted work — despite ongoing shelling across the region. The Kitchen of Kindness ran every single day. Volunteers drove out to communities in the oblast and coordinated with partner organisations to keep food packages moving.

Food Aid & Distribution

• Delivered food packages to IDPs from Dvorichanska community, in partnership with CAMZ (Committee for Medical Aid in Zakarpattia).
• Provided food aid to IDPs from Kupyanska community — groceries and essential goods.
• Distributed dairy products donated by Food Bank Ukraine to displaced families.
• Organised unloading and packing of humanitarian cargo with the participation of IDPs, coordinated through the Kharkiv Employment Centre.

 

Kitchen of Kindness

• Hot meals served every day to displaced people and soldiers.
• 14 July — charity lunch for local residents and IDPs.
• 29 July — charity lunch for displaced children from the village of Vilshana, supported by Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill and Food Bank Ukraine.

 

Community Outreach

• 15–16 July — field visit to Baranivsky starosty district: humanitarian aid delivered, warm welcome from the local community. Residents donated vegetables, preserves, eggs, milk and oil from their gardens for the Kitchen of Kindness.
• Ongoing logistics partnership with Nova Poshta Humanitarian — free delivery and receipt of humanitarian cargo throughout the quarter.

 

August 2025

August brought new formats. The team launched creative workshops for children, made two field trips to Baranivsky district, organised a community picnic, and continued legal support for IDPs.

Food Aid & Hot Meals

• Regular food package distribution to Kharkiv oblast IDPs, supported by Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill.
• 28 August — charity lunch at St Peter and Paul Church in Kharkiv in a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
• 11 August — charity lunch at St Peter and Paul Church.
• CAMZ donated disposable tableware to support the ongoing lunch programme.

 

Free Legal Aid

• 5 August — free legal consultation for IDPs from Dvorichanska community, conducted by lawyers from Caritas Kharkiv. Over 60 cases handled — covering documents, social payments, and legal rights.
• 27 August — second legal aid session for displaced residents.

 

Children’s Programmes

• 21 August — pottery masterclass for displaced children. Every child made their own clay piece to take home.
• 18 August — educational and recreational gathering with tea and games for children during the summer holidays.
• 15 August — visit to children with Down syndrome: gifts, conversation, and time spent together.
• 25 August — distribution of children’s probiotics donated by CAMZ across multiple locations in Kharkiv and the oblast — supporting children’s health during wartime.
• 26 August — chess tournament held at the foundation’s premises for displaced residents.

 

Field Outreach & Military Support

• 8 and 22 August — visits to Baranivsky district: humanitarian aid delivered to residents and IDPs. Volunteers Markus and Kristian organised a community picnic with field porridge and treats for children and adults.
• 4 August — field trip to the village of Dublyanka: aid for residents and children (sweets, nappies, essentials). Villages Oleksiivka, Vodyane, Sontsedaivka, Chervonyi Prapor, and Bidylo also covered.
• 18 August — volunteers weaving camouflage nets for soldiers on the front line.

 

September 2025

September marked the launch of a new initiative: daily hot meals for elderly IDPs living alone in shelters. The team also celebrated the start of the school year with gifts for displaced first-graders and held art therapy sessions for children.

New Project: Hot Meals for Elderly IDPs in Shelters

On 5 September, Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv announced a new programme: “Feeding Elderly IDPs Living Alone in Shelters.” These are older people who fled their homes and have no family nearby. They cannot cook for themselves. Some have not had a warm meal made by someone who cares in months.

The project provides daily full hot meals and regular visits from volunteers — not just nutrition, but human presence and the reminder that someone remembers them.

 

Humanitarian Aid & Field Visits

• 12 September — food packages distributed to IDPs from Dvorichanska community.
• 25 September — humanitarian packages distributed to those in need.
• 2 September — visit to Baranivsky district: aid for IDPs, gifts for first-graders starting school, produce collected for the Kitchen of Kindness.
• 3 September — trip to the village of Khvorostove: aid for residents and IDPs, vegetables, fruit and eggs collected for the kitchen.
• 16 September — field visits to villages Dublyanka, Sontsedaivka, Knyazha Dolyna, Bidylo, Vodyane, Oleksiivka: humanitarian aid delivered, local produce collected.
• 16 September — gratitude expressed to residents of Mnyshyn village (Rivne region) and the priest of St Peter and Paul Church for organising vegetable collections for the foundation.

 

Art Therapy & Children’s Activities

• 29 September — art therapy session for displaced children: “Painting the Golden Autumn.”
• Ongoing support for children from IDP families throughout the quarter.

 

Supporting Soldiers & the Community

• 17 September — hot tea and homemade pastries for blood donors — the unsung heroes keeping hospitals running.
• 18 September — chess tournament for displaced athletes.

 

Our Partners

None of this work happens alone. In Q3 2025, Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv thanks the following organisations for their support:

• CAMZ (Committee for Medical Aid in Zakarpattia) — regular deliveries of humanitarian goods, children’s probiotics, and supplies for our lunch programme.
• Food Bank Ukraine — dairy products, treats for children, and support for children’s events.
• Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill — food packages for IDPs across multiple communities.
• Nova Poshta Humanitarian — free logistics and delivery of humanitarian cargo.
• Caritas Kharkiv — legal aid for displaced people through volunteer lawyers.
• Kharkiv Employment Centre — coordination of socially useful work for IDPs.
• Village communities across the Kharkiv region — for donating garden produce to the Kitchen of Kindness.
• The priest and parish of St Peter and Paul Church, Kharkiv — for hosting our weekly charity lunches.

 

Q3 2025 by the Numbers

• Hot meals served — over 7,000
• Food packages distributed to IDPs — over 3,500
• Free legal consultations — 2 sessions, over 100 cases
• Children’s events (art therapy, workshops, celebrations) — over 12
• Villages reached through field outreach — at least 8
• IDPs involved in community work programmes — over 100
• New volunteer programmes launched — 1 (daily meals for elderly IDPs in shelters)
• Partner organisations — 6+

 

* Figures are based on posts published on the foundation’s official Facebook page (facebook.com/ChervonaKalynaKharkiv) for July–September 2025.

 

Looking Back — and Forward

Q3 2025 was a quarter of resilience and growth. The Kitchen of Kindness did not miss a single day. Volunteers drove hours into the region to reach villages that rarely see outside help. Children made pottery, painted autumn leaves, and — for a few hours — were simply children.

A new programme was born: because an elderly woman alone in a shelter deserves a hot meal and someone to talk to. Because that is what it means to remain human in wartime.

The work continues. And it continues because people like you choose to support it.

 

Support Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv

If this report moved you — consider making a donation. Every contribution, wherever you are in the world, helps us keep the kitchen running, reach more villages, and be there for the people who have already lost so much.

Donate: chervona-kalyna.org/en/donate

Website: chervona-kalyna.org/en

Facebook: facebook.com/ChervonaKalynaKharkiv

 

Together — we are stronger. Together — to Victory.