The foundation operates in Odesa. The organization dates the start of its activities to 2014, when it helped internally displaced people from Donbas. The foundation was officially registered in 2017. The founder of the foundation is Kateryna Nozhevnikova.

The foundation’s work combines medical, humanitarian, and military assistance. The organization supports people in difficult life circumstances, helps hospitals and patients, and, since the start of the full-scale invasion, also provides military units with tactical medicine, communication equipment, drones, vehicles, and other necessary equipment.

Main areas of work

The main areas listed by the organization include: medical assistance, purchasing equipment and renovating hospital wards, support for children and teenagers, humanitarian aid for civilians, and help for people in difficult life situations. At various times, the foundation has also developed social initiatives for lonely elderly people and graduates of orphanages.

Humanitarian aid

The humanitarian work is focused mainly on residents of Odesa and Odesa Oblast. People who may apply for help include low-income and large families, single parents, orphans, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons, pensioners, families of combatants, and other citizens in difficult circumstances.

The foundation may provide long-shelf-life food, baby food, diapers, personal hygiene products, clothing, footwear, bedding, children’s goods, and other assistance depending on the content of the request and available resources. To receive help, applicants must provide documents confirming their identity, place of residence, and grounds for the request. After reviewing the application, the foundation reserves the right to refuse assistance.

“Breathe” oxygen support project

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation created the “Breathe” oxygen support project. The organization purchased oxygen concentrators for patients who needed oxygen therapy and also provided medical institutions with personal protective equipment, equipment, and disinfectants. On the project page, the foundation states that 2,053 oxygen-dependent people received help and that support was provided to 61 medical and social institutions in Odesa and Odesa Oblast.

However, the history section of the foundation’s website publishes a different figure: more than 5,000 recipients of oxygen support. Since the data on the official website differ, Charity Guide records both values until the organization clarifies them.

Support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, a significant part of the foundation’s activity has been related to supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The published areas include tactical medicine, FPV drones, equipment for operators and workshops, Starlink terminals, vehicles, and other necessary equipment.

Military units may apply to the foundation with an official request letter containing a description of the need, its justification, and the contact details of the responsible person. The organization reviews requests based on the urgency of the need and available resources and may provide assistance in full or in part, change its scope, or decline the request.

History of the organization

In 2014, the future foundation began helping internally displaced people from Donbas. The organization’s activities later expanded to cover medical, humanitarian, and social assistance. In 2017, the foundation was officially registered.

In July 2019, the foundation became the owner of one of the buildings of the former Chuvyrin sanatorium on French Boulevard in Odesa, also known as the Anatra dacha. The organization considered this building as a possible site for an urban center of charitable and social projects.

Team and management

The founder of the foundation is Kateryna Nozhevnikova. The official website also presents co-founders, staff in military and civilian areas, accounting, and other team members.

Co-founders and main team members:

• Kateryna Nozhevnikova – founder of the foundation;
• Dina Kazatsker – co-founder, community and public relations;
• Oleksandra Tysheikina – co-founder;
• Inna Kovtunovych;
• Iryna Podhorna – civilian programs;
• Natalia Ivanenko – accountant;
• Oksana Weinbrand – project manager of “I’m a Mom”;
• Anna Alefirova – accountant;
• Oksana Droma – accountant;
• Oleksii Khvan;
• Pavlo Makhlaichuk;
• Serhii Kondratiev;
• Ihor Droma;
• Aurika Shitrya.

On the website, some positions are described in an informal style. In Charity Guide’s profile, such roles are conveyed neutrally or kept only when they describe the person’s actual area of work.

Board of trustees

The board of trustees includes Olga Rudneva, Vitaliy Oplachko, Shota Khajishvili, Andriy Stavnitser, and Mykhailo Shyrokov.

The foundation explains that board members helped the organization in its first years, including with administrative expenses, but do not take part in current management or operational decision-making.

Awards and public recognition

The official website lists awards and forms of public recognition received by the foundation’s founder, Kateryna Nozhevnikova:

• inclusion in the rating of influential women of Ukraine by the Focus magazine in 2021;
• Order of Princess Olga, 3rd class;
• honorary citizen of Odesa Oblast;
• Medal of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine “For Assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”;
• honorary badge “For Assistance to the Naval Forces of Ukraine”;
• Order of Princess Olga, 2nd class.

These awards belong to the founder of the foundation, not to the organization as a legal entity.

Partners

The official website has a section with organizations and companies designated by the foundation as partners. In most cases, the page shows only logos, without a description of the form of cooperation, its period, or its link to specific initiatives. Therefore, Charity Guide does not identify these organizations as current partners as of today, and only records the presence of a partners section on the official website.

Official materials of the foundation

The official website presents current and archived projects, conditions for requesting humanitarian and military assistance, information about the team, contact details, social media, registration documents, and a public reporting section.

Detailed projects and related ways to help are presented below, in the following blocks of the profile.

Block with an orange stripe on the left:
The description was prepared by volunteers of the Charity Guide platform based on information published in open sources. Representatives of the foundation may at any time propose a clarification or update to the information.

Changes are made after an official request on behalf of the organization and verification of the information provided. The request must include links to supporting materials published on the foundation’s official website, in its social media, or in independent media outlets.