Remodelling our corporate activities into volunteer initiatives

As a global company that employs workers from all over the world including Israel and Ukraine, we had planned to celebrate Ukraine’s 31st Independence Day with the team at Hoverla, the highest mountain in Ukraine, against the majestic backdrop of the Carpathian Mountains. The war forced a change of plans though, so we had to adjust the company’s priorities and strategy. Today, we are remodelling our corporate activities into volunteer initiatives.

We decided to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day and  organized a volunteering trip to the village of Gorenka in the Kyiv region.

Photo by Tasha Dudka, in this photo: Petro Khilinskyi

Northern areas of the Kyiv region have sustained heavy damage aand many houses suffered complete and total damage. One of these houses belongs to Mrs. Valentina and Mr. Serhiy, who worked all their lives to furnish their cozy home and dreamed of raising more than one generation there. After the shelling, only the walls remained standing. What’s left must now be demolished as the house cannot be restored.

Given that our team is located in different parts of Ukraine and the world, we did not expect a large number of registrations to participate in the project, but the organizational team was pleasantly surprised to receive 20+ offers for participation. Even the children and friends of our employees expressed a desire to participate. In turn, the company supported the effort as much as possible, providing a transfer, lunches and dinners, tools, heavy equipment for garbage collection, and disposal of construction debris.

Our team spent 6 hours clearing one house. And there are tens of thousands of such houses throughout Ukraine. The team collected and disposed of more than 17 tons of waste. It is priceless to see the grateful eyes of a family helped by complete strangers. Their story gave additional motivation for each participant in this volunteering initiative to help each other as soon as possible and appreciate every minute of life.

Photo by Tasha Dudka, in this photo: Maksym Blyzniuk

After an active working day, everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner, swimming in the lake, and heatfelt conversations. Everyone is used to sedentary work at computers, so this physical activity was a real detox for everyone.

We received positive feedback from all participants, despite the fact that everyone was tired, both physically and mentally. But there can be nothing better than the feeling that you have benefited this world !