All-Ukrainian Campaign "Pack a Backpack for a Child" 2026
We are happy and proud to share the results of our annual volunteer campaign "Pack a Backpack for a Child"
At VC volunteer centers, September begins long before the first school bell. It begins the moment someone brings the first notebook to a volunteer center. When a volunteer stays after work to assemble school kits, when the community decides that no child should start the school year worrying about whether they will have the essentials they need.
It was actions like these that gave rise to the All-Ukrainian "Pack a Backpack for a Child" campaign, which once again brought together dozens of communities, hundreds of volunteers, partners and donors around a common goal - supporting children before the new school year. This year's campaign, which ran from July 10 to August 30, involved 17 volunteer centers in 15 Ukrainian cities. Thanks to the efforts of caring people, 421 school supply kits and 163 backpacks were collected, 63 events were held, and 438 children received support. The initiative brought together 131 volunteers and 286 partners and donors.
Once again, the campaign became a clear example of how a community can mobilize its own resources and turn them into real support for children and families. Volunteers played a special role in this story. They brought community members, friends, partners and donors together around the campaign. They collected, sorted, packed and distributed the supplies to children. Their contribution showed how one person's willingness to care can change another person's life.
The participants themselves best describe what this support means.
- Oksana E., a mother of six from Mykolaiv Oblast, said: "The Mykolaiv community always takes care of us. My children received gifts for school. And I noticed that every time we receive gifts from Mykolaiv, something good happens to my children. I can't explain it, but I've noticed it more than once."
- Valentyna, a mother of two daughters: "We needed everything. We fled an abusive father and ended up in a crisis center without belongings or money. I have two daughters, aged 13 and 15. I had no idea how I would send them to school. Thanks to the volunteers, the girls received wonderful school kits."
- Andrii Waldman, fifth grade, Rivne: "My backpack has a pocket for a power bank! Thank you!"
These stories remind us that for children and families, a school kit represents more than notebooks, pens or a backpack. It becomes a symbol of security for parents, confidence for a child and a sign that there is a community nearby ready to support them when needed.
The "Pack a Backpack for a Child" campaign once again demonstrated the strength of a community that knows how to unite people around important goals. Every contribution from a partner, every donation and every volunteer hour became an opportunity for hundreds of children to begin the school year with a smile and new possibilities.
This is how a community builds its capacity - through mutual responsibility, trust and a willingness to support one another. This is how it strengthens its self-reliance. This is how a generation of children grows up seeing examples of mutual support and compassion from an early age and learning that the greatest resource of any community is its people - people who are ready to act together for the future of their children.