“Here is a fairy tale. Once upon a time, there were Oleh and Vita, two colleagues. They were always restless and trying to do something interesting for others. One day they wanted to do something good on the eve of St. Mykolay’s Day. But here’s the problem: they had the urge, but no money. One day, Oleh accidentally came across a cool opportunity on Facebook. It was the Microgrant of Good program from Goodacity. Vita and Oleh decided to apply. But they wanted to do not one, but two good things. They decided to help two families and have a celebration for them. So, Vita and Oleh sent the letters and were so incredibly happy when their good intentions were supported, and the microgrants went to them inSakhnovshchyna! However, the fairy tale did not end there; it actually just started!”
And indeed, the story of charity and good deeds brought to life by two caring hearts of Oleh Yarynich and Vitaliya Dudka from the village of Sakhnovshchyna in the Kharkiv region are just beginning!
Ms. Vitaliya, who works in the education, culture, youth and sports departments, and Mr. Oleh, the deputy director of the village cultural center, decided to share some Christmas spirit and create a miracle for families who needed it so much. And also prove that nothing is impossible when you have a kind heart!
On December 19, on St. Mykolay’s Day, a presentation of THE HANDFUL OF CHRISTMAS KINDNESS charity project was held at the Sakhnovshchyna Centralized Club System with the support of the education, culture, youth and sports departments of the Sakhnovshchyna Village Council. The partners of the project were the Goodacity space of good and mutual aid, which provided two microgrants for good things, and the Unbreakable Hearts Charitable Fund.
This project gave a chance to support two large families, each with their own story. The Yaichen family from Sakhnovshchyna has seven children: two adults and five minors, who recently lost their father. The Yemelyanovs from the village of Suharivske are fighting 9-year-old Tymurchyk’s cancer. His two brothers wish that he can come back home as soon as possible.
On St. Mykolay’s Day, these families came together at one large table for a cozy celebration held for them. The mothers were so pleased to see their children smiling and happy. They said that for most of them, it was the best St. Mykolay’s Day in their lives!
It was a unique, incredible, one-of-a-kind holiday! A day that made so many children’s dreams come true and brought tears of joy and excitement to their parents’ eyes!
“I wanted to make this dream come true in memory of my son…”
“I got to know the Yemelyanovs family from social networks,” said Ms. Vitaliya, who took it upon herself to help the family. “And I realized that I would do all I can to help them. I am a mother who still hasn’t recovered from the pain and grief, but I want children’s dreams to come true”.
“Our family got acquainted with grief, as we lost our only son this April. Our Vladyslav will forever be 23. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, this cruel disease, took him from us. He was fighting leukemia for two years, and we all were fighting with him. Two years of struggle and hope, two years of pain and despair…
Our Vladyslav had a dream. He was an athlete, a soccer player, a traveler, and the story of the soccer player Ronaldo, who was fighting childhood leukemia, inspired him a lot. He told me that he would recover and would help children with leukemia as well. Unfortunately, this wish could not come true, but we decided that we would fulfill our son’s dreams of helping other children! Browsing social networks I saw the story of a nine-year-old boy, Tymur Yemelyanov, from the village of Suharivske in our Sakhnovshchyna community, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Their family has many children, their father is a tractor driver that is currently with Tymur in the Poltava hospital and their mother is a housewife, she is at home with the boy’s two brothers, 11-year-old Sashko and 7-year-old Nariman. Life is very, very difficult for the family now.
When I contacted Tymur’s family and asked the boy what he wished for, Tymur answered as bluntly as a real child would and asked Mykolay to bring him a tablet so that long procedures at the hospital would not be so boring. I realized that I wanted to make this dream come true, honoring my son because I knew that he would do it too. Therefore, not one dream is fulfilled in our story, but several at once! It is the dream of little Tymur, who is currently fighting a serious illness, and also the dream of our Vlad to help sick children, to give them strength and optimism in their fight. You have to dream. And you have to believe! A great good is composed of such small stories. Good lives forever!”
“Tymur’s gift was delivered to him, and we all wait for this courageous boy to come back home as soon as possible after overcoming his illness! And we prepared gifts for his brothers, who are waiting for Tymur to return: sports balls and T-shirts.”
“We are grateful to Goodacity for the microgrant and for responding to our request. We could not have such a beautiful, kind holiday without your help. And I’m certain that this is not the only good deed!”
“The Handful of Christmas Kindness: when goodness comes to the rescue!”
“The Yaichen family from Sakhnovshchyna, Ms. Tetyana and her children were also happy to have this celebration and receive their handful of Christmas kindness. And there are seven children in this family!” the woman’s colleague, Mr. Oleh, says. “Actually, he was one of the initiators of holding the celebration for children, as it was him who applied for a microgrant from Goodacity to make a pleasant surprise for the children!”
“The bright joy of the holiday distracted them from the bitterness of loss for a few hours. Recently, the family lost their father. He suffered from throat cancer for several years, and the last months of his life, coinciding with the war, were very difficult for the family. It was especially hard for Tetyana, who was taking care of her seriously ill husband and working to make a living for her children at the same time. She is a heroic woman! She is so stoic and courageous that sometimes you wonder where she gets her strength from.”
“Talking with Tetyana, who works as a day gatekeeper at our cultural center, I clearly understood that they have a strong family that believes in God, in kind people. And they try to help their neighbors themselves, although their own circumstances are not easy.
Tetyana is a very bright and creative person, with a positive attitude; she likes to embroider and craft with her children. Even though the family lives very modestly, they try to help their neighbors. Two children in the family are already adults, five are from 3 to 15 years old. I thought, why shouldn’t we, together with you, become that very Mykolay at least for an hour fulfilling the wishes of this family and bring them gifts? Children and Tetyana need some attention so much!”
“We decided to combine our event with a good cause: the children made some vitamin mixtures of nuts and honey for our defenders. As a reward for these good things, Mykolay brought them gifts!”
“To be honest, we as the organizers of the project were very pleased with communicating and spending time together with these families. If only for an hour, we took them out of the reality of problems, war, and pain. It was such a joy to see the surprised faces of the children, saying, “How did Mykolay know what I wanted?” Children’s emotions are genuine, they are sincere and bright. It warms our hearts, really. It is the best gratitude one can receive!”
“Do you know what gives the most motivation and inspiration after such events? The faces of children we manage to help and seeing people’s sincere desire to get into charity and spread the good!”