August 2023: a month filled with activities!

At the beginning of the month, we traditionally share the achievements of B50 volunteers over the previous month. We also ask everyone to join the B50 community’s activities – physically, informationally, and financially.

Like always, B50 activists from Clean Up! were engaged in eliminating the consequences of the enemy invasion in Moshchun. They focused on two large locations, one of which was completely cleared.

Volunteers from Clean Up! also had a chance to work in a new place – in the village of Potashnia, Bucha district, and in a new format for the volunteer camp.

We decided to try this format to improve logistics, expand outreach, save on fuel, diversify the “Moschun weekend”, and combine business with pleasure – outdoor recreation with work at the site. We believe that everything we planned was 100% successful: the destruction has been completely cleaned up, and the volunteers are satisfied with the results of the two working days and the time spent in nature.

B50 volunteers from the Reconstruction project have almost completed repairs in the Nova Hreblia Gymnasium bomb shelter. They carried out minor repairs (leveled the walls, primed, painted the wall, ceiling and other structures, waterproofed the walls, and improved the lighting system (there was one lamp for 50 squares and the children could hardly see anything). And the volunteers from the Shelters started painting the walls. The general artistic concept of the shelter is traveling. Currently, 3 out of 4 rooms are ready to receive students!

The Reconstruction activists also started a new shelter in the Borodyanka pre-school (nursery-kindergarten) of the combined type “Kolosochok”, which is attended by more than 120 children.

To finance this project, the B50 community managed to attract partners: the team of TakeOff ‘s central office in Malta organized an internal fundraising campaign and raised €1,000 to transform the shelter in Borodianka. Currently, two areas are being renovated – a large room and a corridor. We are focusing on eliminating wall defects, puttying and priming, and have started painting the walls.

Volunteers from Reconstruction also helped the partner organization Gurtum prepare Hostomel primary school and the library in Horenka for reopening after the reconstruction.

The activists of the Shelters project worked in a shelter in Nova Hreblia. The general concept of the decoration is travel. All the drawings are united by the concept of “Animals Traveling”. In each of the three rooms, cartoon animals will be riding on different vehicles. Currently, 2 rooms are ready.

In August, the regional stage of the P.AGE was completed. The B50 volunteers received all the books from publishers and bookstores that offered discounts ranging from 15 to 40%, formed sets and sent them (free of charge thanks to Nova Poshta) to participating libraries, and even managed to get feedback.

As part of the Fluffy Sunday project, B50 volunteers helped at the Best Friends shelter in Fasova. They dismantled enclosures and outbuildings, delivered humanitarian aid, and interacted with the animals.

Volunteers from B50 Care also went to the Dvorniashkam Dom shelter, walked the dogs, brought needed gifts, including diapers, rugs, old bedding, and organized the delivery of cardboard.

In August, we launched a new area of work to promote reconstruction volunteering, which will be carried out as part of the Country of Volunteers program.

We believe that promoting recovery volunteering is very timely now, because both today and after the victory, Ukraine will need not only funds for recovery, but also people interested in helping and monitoring this process.

Currently, we include the following B50 projects in the Country of Volunteers: “Stronger Than Bricks” exhibition, Corporate Volunteering, and Interviews with the most active community volunteers.

In August, the photo exhibition “Stronger Than Bricks” visited Kremenchuk, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Rivne, Kamianets, Mukachevo, attracted the attention of local residents, journalists, and tourists, which helped to achieve its main goal of popularizing recovery volunteering, attracting new people and donors to the B50 community.

This month, several stories about B50 volunteers were released: an ICTV story about the transformation of the bomb shelter in Nova Hreblia, a report by Sfera TV and Suspilne Rivne about the B50 photo exhibition in Rivne.

In August, B50 volunteers did as well:

• updated the structure of the official website, in particular, added pages about the Team and Fluffy Sunday;
• launched an B50 Friends program for people who want to become part of the B50 team from any part of Ukraine or the world;
• attended a meeting of the Kyiv School of Economics’ Economy Recovery Lab, where experts are developing practical solutions for Ukraine’s recovery, community development, entrepreneurship, etc.
• received another tranche of an advertising grant from Google Ads;
• participated in the Family Space Fest in Hatne to raise funds for the community’s activities.

August was very hot and very busy, but the B50 volunteers survived the heat and completed all the tasks (who would have doubted it). Let’s keep working!