The Good Will Committee – Olga Havel Foundation has launched a public collection Light and Heat for Kiev, which responds to the dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine during this winter. The goal of the collection is to ensure the operation of Save Ukraine centers in Kiev and its surroundings.
During blackouts, these places provide children and families with safety, warmth, light, food, and the opportunity to stay connected to the world.
Russia’s ongoing and intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are causing long-term power, heating, and water outages at a time when temperatures are falling well below freezing. “Winter without electricity and heat is not just a matter of discomfort. It poses a real health risk and further trauma for children and vulnerable families.
With this collection, we want to help keep the places that literally decide today whether people will have somewhere to warm up and feel safe in operation,” says Monika Granja, Director of the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation.
The Save Ukraine centers in Kyiv, Irpin, and Hatny currently operate as places of psychological and social support. During power outages, people find heated spaces, the opportunity to prepare hot meals, charge mobile phones, use emergency shelters, or take shelter during air raids. Hundreds of children and adults depend on their operation every day.
The funds raised from the Light and Heat for Kiev collection will be used exclusively for urgent and critical needs, in particular to provide alternative energy sources (generators, charging stations, power banks), heating and fuel for the operation of the centers during long-term outages, equipment for emergency overnight stays and shelter (beds, sleeping bags, thermal blankets), the ability to prepare hot meals even without electricity, basic lighting and safety in the dark.
“The President of the Czech Republic visited Kiev in recent days. In these difficult times, such visits are more important than words can express. It is a great honor for us to have friends who are not afraid to come to Ukraine, join us in person, and show solidarity even when the war continues. Please accept our sincere gratitude for the unwavering support and friendship of the Czech Republic,” said Dariia Bolgar, a representative of the Save Ukraine organization, commenting on the wave of solidarity.
The Light and Heat for Kiev collection is intended for the coming winter months, when the situation is most critical. Every day without help increases the health risks and endangerment of children who have already been deprived of a sense of security by the war.
People can support the Light and Heat for Kiev collection through the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation on https://www.darujme.cz/
Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation
The Committee of Good Will has been operating since 1990, when the foundation was founded by Olga Havel, the first wife of the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel. The foundation continues to build on this legacy. It helps those who cannot take care of themselves due to their adverse health and social conditions. It strives to develop education, spiritual values, human rights, and other humanistic values. Thanks to the support of individual and corporate donors, the foundation contributes to health and compensation aids, supports helping organizations and students with health or social disadvantages. During its existence, the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havel Foundation has already helped 32,000 organizations and individuals with the amount of 984 million crowns.