Despite the explosions and blackouts: what gifts do lonely old people get this year?

The Let’s Help Foundation has traditionally dedicated the first half of winter to collecting New Year’s gifts for lonely old people as part of the OGORNY HEAT campaign. This year, all efforts were concentrated on warm clothes, which are very lacking for older people in geriatric boarding houses in conditions of a long blackout. The purpose of this action is to provide at least 1,000 single grandparents with warm clothes that will help them survive this winter in comfortable conditions. This is also an opportunity to support an old man who was left alone with his problems at such a difficult time for Ukraine.

“The charitable action “BURN THE WARM” this year has acquired a different meaning and a larger scale. If last year’s Christmas gifts consisted of various things that simply gave pleasure and good mood to the elderly, then this year we thought primarily about comfortable living conditions for each ward individually and started from urgent needs during the war. We decided to buy individual sets of warm clothes: woolen vests and socks, winter blankets and blankets… We wrap and hand each gift personally. This requires the involvement of more people and time, but we believe that now it is very important to be sure that every grandparent will receive from us not just pleasure, but real warmth that will help them survive the most difficult winter in Ukraine!” - share plans Operations Director of the Let’s Help Charity Fund Victoria Marushevskaya.

The Ogorny Warmth campaign began in December and will last until mid-January 2023. The foundation has already begun delivering the first gifts on St. Nicholas Day, to the Kyiv region.

It was the first trip of the Let’s help fund during the war, when the whole team gathered in a new line-up. Even the explosions with which Russia has been trying to intimidate the Ukrainians since 4 in the morning did not become an obstacle to our plans! We, as promised, brought gifts, handed them over personally, and also bought additional tangerines and sweets to cheer up the old people. We checked the conditions in which our wards are in the geriatric home in the village. Medvin, made conclusions for the future about what can be improved to make the elderly feel comfortable. And once again we were convinced that we are doing really important things! After all, all the attention of people is riveted to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the kids, and the elderly are rarely remembered, ” Maria shares her impressions of the trip with partner relations manager.

Everyone can join the action “Ogorny Teply” and make a charitable contribution for a comfortable amount or purchase a gift for the elderly in person and put it in houses in Kyiv (look for the addresses on the foundation’s website). The average cost of a winter set of warm clothes is 550-700 UAH. The institutions where aid will be sent are located in regions where the situation with the financing of boarding houses is currently the worst, and also where lonely old people from the occupied regions or settlements where shelling is actively underway move for a temporary stay.