In a City Near the Front, They Never Miss a Day
A Ukrainian charity fed thousands of displaced families through autumn and winter. On Dec. 4, its founder received a medal for defending Kharkiv. She still showed up to serve lunch.
Reported by the Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv Foundation | Adapted for international readers
KHARKIV, Ukraine — Q4 2025 Report | October – December 2025 | chervona-kalyna.org
The city of Kharkiv sits about 30 miles from the Russian border. On most days, the air raid sirens go off before breakfast. Residents have long since learned to eat quickly.
Against this backdrop, a small charitable foundation called Chervona Kalyna — Red Viburnum — has been running a community kitchen, distributing food packages, and organizing holiday parties for displaced children every single day since 2022. The fourth quarter of 2025 was no different.
Between October and December, the foundation served more than 6,500 hot meals, distributed thousands of food and hygiene packages, launched a new partnership with a local bakery to provide fresh bread daily, and organized Christmas celebrations for children who had fled their homes under artillery fire. On Dec. 4, its director, Liudmyla Katkova, received a state medal for her contributions to the defense of Kharkiv’s district. She was back at the kitchen the following morning.
“Fragrant bread is not just aid,” the foundation wrote when announcing the new partnership. “It is the feeling of home, warmth, and care that so many families are missing.”
OCTOBER
Autumn Harvests, Children and Chestnuts
The quarter began with familiar rhythms: weekly charity lunches at St. Peter and Paul Church in central Kharkiv, food distributions to families from the front-line communities of Dvorichanska and Kupyanska, and a field trip to the village of Baranove, where local residents filled the foundation’s van with vegetables, preserves, eggs and milk from their own gardens.
“This is not just food,” the foundation noted. “It is a piece of warmth passing from one person to another.”
On Oct. 23, volunteers set up an art therapy session for displaced children. The materials were autumn leaves, chestnuts and acorns — things found underfoot. The children made animals, seasonal compositions, small worlds of their own. The session was one of several run by the foundation throughout the quarter; art therapy, volunteers here have found, does something that food packages cannot.
The foundation also worked with Rotary to visit children with Down syndrome on Oct. 17, bringing gifts and spending time with them. “Their smiles,” volunteers wrote afterward, “are the most valuable gift we receive in return.”
New warm clothing was distributed to IDPs working at the foundation — provided by CAMZ, the Committee for Medical Aid in Zakarpattia, one of the foundation’s core long-term partners. Hygiene kits and vitamins arrived as well.
Partners in October: CAMZ · Food Bank Ukraine · Nova Poshta Humanitarian · Kharkiv Employment Centre · Rotary
NOVEMBER
A Psychologist, a Chess Board, and a Fundraising Call
November brought a new format. On Nov. 17, a psychologist visited the foundation to lead a session for displaced children on anti-bullying — how to recognize it, how to protect yourself, how to support a friend who is being targeted. Every child received a small gift at the end. It was a quiet kind of work, easy to overlook in a report full of food distribution numbers. The foundation considers it essential.
The chess club held another tournament that month. The foundation has been running these gatherings for displaced residents throughout the year — part competition, part community, part reason to leave the shelter and sit across a board from someone. “Chess unites people of different ages and backgrounds,” the foundation wrote. It is hard to argue with.
On Nov. 24, a charity lunch was held at St. Peter and Paul Church on the eve of the Orthodox fast — prayers, shared food, and what one post described as “a feeling of unity and peace.” On Nov. 21, another lunch gathered displaced families from Dvorichanska and Kupyanska communities. The foundation’s description of that meal: “We are not just feeding people. We are giving them back the feeling of home.”
In early November, the foundation announced a public appeal for donations ahead of St. Nicholas Day and the New Year — sweets, dairy products, toys, books, anything for children. The director’s phone number was printed at the bottom of the post.
Medical supplies continued to flow. On Nov. 13, prescription medications were distributed to IDPs — provided by CAMZ. “Access to medicine in difficult times is not a luxury,” the foundation wrote. “It is a basic necessity.”
“We are not just feeding people. We are giving them back the feeling of home.”
Partners in November: CAMZ · Nova Poshta Humanitarian · Kharkiv Employment Centre · village communities of Baranove, Rohivka, Khvorostove
DECEMBER
A Medal, a Bakery, and St. Nicholas Comes to Kharkiv
December opened with two pieces of news on the same day.
On Dec. 4, Liudmyla Katkova, the foundation’s director, was awarded a state medal “For Contribution to the Defense of Kharkiv District” — presented on the eve of Volunteer Day. The foundation published the announcement alongside a photo and a message to its entire team: “This award belongs to all of us.” On Dec. 26, she received a second state honor.
Also in early December, the foundation announced a new partnership with Good People, a local bakery that began delivering fresh bread to displaced families daily. The foundation’s post about it — warm, specific, unadorned — described the smell of the bread and what it meant to people who had not had a home kitchen in years.
On Dec. 10, St. Nicholas arrived at the foundation. Not a costumed character at a shopping center, but a deliberate, carefully organized event for children who had fled shelling and were spending the holidays in a strange city. There were sweets, laughter, and what the foundation called “a fairy-tale atmosphere.” A Christmas tree had been set up in the foundation’s main room. On Dec. 23 and 30, two more holiday events were held for displaced children, with treats provided by Food Bank Ukraine.
A field trip on Dec. 22 reached the village of Dublyanka and surrounding settlements — toys, nappies, essentials for children, produce from local gardens collected for the kitchen. Residents of six villages participated in the donation effort.
On Dec. 4, during a visit to Baranove village, children from the local community prepared packages of gifts for Ukrainian soldiers. Volunteers promised to deliver them. “With the warmth of small hearts,” the foundation wrote.
Medical supplies and hygiene goods continued through December. On Dec. 17, prescription medications and hygiene products arrived from CAMZ and were distributed to IDPs. Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill provided toilet paper and paper towels — practical, unglamorous, necessary.
The last post of the year, published Dec. 31, was addressed to “subscribers, friends, and partners.” It wished them peace, health, family warmth, and faith in good. It ended, as most of the foundation’s posts end: “Together — to Victory.”
Partners in December: Good People (new) · CAMZ · Food Bank Ukraine · Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill · Nova Poshta Humanitarian · villages: Dublyanka, Baranove, Rohivka, Khvorostove and six surrounding settlements
Q4 2025 BY THE NUMBERS
- Hot meals served — more than 6,500
- Food and hygiene packages distributed to IDPs — more than 3,000
- Free medication distributions — 2
- Children’s events (art therapy, St. Nicholas Day, New Year celebrations) — more than 8
- Psychological support sessions for children — 1 (anti-bullying)
- Chess tournaments for displaced adults — 2
- Villages reached through field outreach — at least 8
- IDPs involved in community work programmes — more than 100
- New partnerships — 1 (Good People, daily fresh bread)
- State honors awarded to the director — 2
Figures are based on posts published on the foundation’s official Facebook page for October–December 2025.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
Chervona Kalyna Kharkiv — Charitable Foundation “Red Viburnum Kharkiv” — is a registered Ukrainian charitable organization operating since 2022. It distributes food and humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons, operates a daily community kitchen, provides free legal and medical support, and runs programmes for displaced children in Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region.
The foundation’s work is carried out by volunteers and made possible through partnerships with Ukrainian and international organizations.
Website: chervona-kalyna.org
English reports: chervona-kalyna.org/en/category/reporting/
Facebook: facebook.com/ChervonaKalynaKharkiv
To support the foundation: chervona-kalyna.org/en/donate
Together — to Victory.
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
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