WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
From personal initiative to a conscious path
It all started back in 2005 in Odesa (Ukraine). And it didn’t begin with the idea of building something big or systematic. It all began with simple things. With an inner state. With the fact that I have always been a romantic, I read a lot, and I sincerely believed (and still do) in people and in the idea that kindness – is not an abstraction, but a real force capable of changing the world around us.
At that time I was already involved in my own small business. I led an active life and moved in circles where I met many people. But at the same time, I had a feeling that my available time was greater than what I was spending on it.
Some people direct their free time into hobbies. Others put it into growing their business. I was looking for something different. An inner need that was only beginning to take shape and that would soon take hold of me completely. At some point, this feeling grew into a simple decision: stop talking and start doing. Turn inner dialogue into action.
So I began to dream – and at the same time to create my first social projects. Most often these were greening and landscaping efforts. But there were other areas too: helping children’s hospitals and intensive care units, supporting elderly people, and much more. I did not follow the usual path of creating a foundation or organization. I openly published all my ideas on social media and said plainly: I am going to do this. Myself. I deliberately took on projects at the edge of my capabilities – so that, even if no one responded, I could still keep my promise.
But from the very first project, I was not alone. People who knew me heard not just a call. They heard a familiar voice. And that voice resonated within them. When inner values align, people stand side by side. And we did it together. I expected occasional support. But it quickly became clear: this was not an episode. People started to respond. And projects began to be carried out one after another. First came those who knew me personally – which is natural, because any movement begins with trust. Then – their friends. Then – people who heard about it through someone else.
In this way, from individual actions, a community began to form. A community of people who saw that their small contribution, combined with others, produces real results.
Once, among many projects, I decided to create a cherry blossom alley for the botanical garden. It was the first such alley in Odesa, and I planned to do it on my own as a personal contribution. But the reaction was unexpected. Many people wrote that they also wanted to take part and did not understand why I had decided to do it alone. That was when it became clear: people need not only to see the result – they need to be part of the process.
After that, about ten more cherry blossom alleys appeared in the city, created through joint efforts. Projects followed one another. Some were larger, some smaller. But their value lay not only in the result. They changed people. They gave them a sense that they could do more than they were used to thinking about themselves. Because they knew me. And they understood: any one of them could have been in my place. And that means they too are capable of acting.
This is how the community took shape. This is how projects began to appear in other cities – thanks to those who observed, were inspired, and continued on their own path. And all of this grew not around an idea. Not around a name. But around an action people wanted to be part of. Around a faith that does not come from outside, but is born within – and grows stronger when we start to act.
If you have access to people, you already have a tool. Social networks – are not only about communication and information. They are a way to unite. A way to launch actions. A way to turn an idea into a real result.
My example is more than 40 social projects that were conceived, organized, and implemented through Facebook. Without foundations. Without complex structures. Only through an open call, personal responsibility, and the trust of people. And this is not an exception. It is a model that is available to many.
If you have a circle of contacts, if people trust you, if you are ready to start – use it.
Don’t postpone. Don’t complicate things. Don’t wait for ideal conditions. Start with one action.
And give others the chance to join in. Sometimes that is enough to launch something that will, over time, become bigger than you planned.
Unfortunately, from the outside such processes often look simpler than they really are. As the number of projects grows, the workload grows with it. And it is important to understand: an increasing number of actions almost always begins to conflict with the capacity of one person.
In my case, this was especially noticeable. The business, which took up a significant part of my time, did not disappear – it grew. It demanded attention, decisions, and involvement. Meanwhile, social projects began to require more and more resources.
It is at this moment that the first serious test arises. Not an external one. An internal one. Are you ready to keep going when it becomes inconvenient? When there is not enough time? When you have to choose between familiar stability and something that offers no obvious benefit?
External factors were added to this as well.
Any social initiative inevitably runs into the system. With regulations, procedures, and formalities that were not originally designed for initiatives ‘from below’. Even simple things, like planting trees, do not always fit within existing rules.
And more complex projects – whether landscaping or initiatives in the social sphere – turn into a chain of approvals, where each next step depends not on the desire to act, but on permission.
And at some point you really hit a wall. Sometimes it is bureaucracy. Sometimes indifference. Sometimes simply other people’s lack of understanding.
The path toward creation is not only inspiration. It is also constant collision with limitations. And this is where the divide happens. Some stop. Some turn back. And some keep going. Not because it is easier. But because they cannot do otherwise.
Key changes happen not in a long process, but in a short decision. Not when ‘there is time’. But when you commit to an action and begin.
If you have an idea – turn it into a concrete step.
If you have resources – determine exactly how you will use them.
If you have a circle of people – share the task with them and invite them to take part.
Don’t wait for full readiness. It never comes. Don’t try to build a system right away. It takes shape along the way. Don’t postpone because of a lack of scale. Scale is a consequence, not a condition.
Make the first project. Show it openly. Give people the chance to join in. From there, the process begins to develop not through plans, but through actions and the trust they build.
But at some point this path was interrupted. The war in Ukraine destroyed our familiar reality. Connections were lost, processes were halted, resources that made it possible to move forward disappeared. People were scattered across different countries, and what had been built over the years stopped existing in its former form.
And after that came a pause. Not absolute, but noticeable.
It was no longer the stream of projects I had been used to. There was no longer the same scale, the same speed, or the same number of people involved in the process. But even in this state, the movement did not stop completely.
Targeted actions continued to appear. Equipment for a children’s intensive care unit. Another cherry blossom alley. Individual initiatives that did not form a flow, but preserved the essence of the movement. And it was in this slowdown that the main thing became visible.
When scale disappears – meaning always remains!
When form is gone – the reason never disappears!
And the rethinking that comes does not turn into disappointment, but becomes a stimulus. Not as an attempt to bring back the past, but as a search for the next step.
It became clear: if before everything was built on personal connections and physical presence, then the next stage must go beyond those boundaries. Gather experience. Systematize it. Make it accessible to others.
So in this transitional state, the idea of Charity Guide began to take shape. Not as a continuation in its former form. But as a new form of the same movement. A platform that is not tied to one city. To one circle of people. To one way of acting. A space where a person can find their own path – with an understanding of how it is structured.
And now we are at a different point. A point where this path can become shared. If you want to act – start. If you have experience – apply it. If you have doubts – look into them and take the first step.
Don’t wait for ideal conditions. Don’t undervalue small actions. Don’t postpone what can be done now. This is no longer the story of one person. It is a space where new solutions, new initiatives, and new meanings can emerge – through the actions of different people.
We are creating this format together. And it is this ‘together’ that will determine what it becomes next.
Believe in yourself.
Take action.
And let’s continue this path in a new format.
Welcome to Charity Guide.
(c) Charity Guide platform (2026)