Humanitarian support provided by NUJU

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) is actively developing partnerships with charitable organizations and philanthropists to provide humanitarian assistance to representatives of the media community in need. The report on large-scale humanitarian initiatives of the NUJU for 2023-2024 was approved during a meeting of the Board of the Union of Journalists on January 23, 2025.

The Ukrainian Food Banks Federation is one of the key partners of the NUJU. The cooperation, initiated by the Memorandum of June 1, 2023, allowed us to provide significant support to various categories of media workers and their families. Over the past year and a half of the partnership, the total cost of assistance provided amounted to more than UAH 1,074,077.

In 2023, the organization handed over 225 food kits worth UAH 325,141.75, focusing on front-line territories – Sumy, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia. During 2024, the scale of assistance expanded significantly – to 12 regions, including front-line ones. It was possible to hand over 330 food kits worth UAH 471,312.80 and 150 hygiene kits with an estimated value of UAH 180,000.

Special attention was paid to supporting the children of media workers. In the first quarter of 2024, children and grandchildren of journalists from Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, and Kirovohrad Regions received 210 sets of Kinder sweets with a total value of about UAH 70,000.

Additionally, the foundation recognized the participants of the creative competition The Warmth of Christmas in Every Postcard, allocating 35 sets of sweets worth UAH 26,732.86.

A significant contribution to the support of the Ukrainian journalistic community is made by Japanese philanthropist Jun’ichi Kowaka through the Japan Offspring Fund. His assistance provides a wide range of needs – from financial support for front-line media to the provision of practical humanitarian assistance. In 2024, each regional branch of the NUJU received assistance in the form of flashlights, vests for journalists, goods for children, vitamins, and souvenirs.

Special attention is paid to journalists who find themselves in challenging life circumstances, in particular, the family of ICTV journalist Andrii Kovalskyi, whose home was damaged by an enemy drone.

Free logistical support in the distribution of humanitarian aid is provided by the Nova Poshta company. In 2024, the NUJU made about 60 humanitarian shipments. An important achievement was the involvement of the Union in the Permanent Partnership program at the end of 2024, which allows using the accrued bonuses to make charitable donations throughout Ukraine.

The distribution of the main part of the humanitarian aid is carried out by the coordinators of the network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers, paying special attention to the front-line regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia.

The NUJU expresses sincere gratitude to all partners for their trust and invaluable contribution to supporting the media community in this difficult time for the country.

Larysa Portianko