We are a charitable organization dedicated to improving lives.
Who are we?
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, our organization has worked to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Zaporizhzhia. As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia became the first transit hub for receiving refugees from the east and south of the country. From the very first days, our volunteers, together with the City Council, established and supported the operation of the volunteer “Rescued Assistance Center” in March 2022.
From the opening day of the volunteer Rescued Assistance Center, Natalia Ardal’yanova, Sezon Kharitonov, Daniil Pichikin, and Oleksandr Ardal’yanov organized their charitable activities. To this day, they continue to coordinate evacuations to safe places, as well as temporary and permanent accommodation in shelters, hostels, dormitories, and homes across Zaporizhzhia and Ukraine.
For the possibility of development and further activity, on September 22 the Charitable Organization “CF ARTAK – Together to the Dream” was officially registered, with its co-founders being Natalia Ardal’yanova, Sezon Kharitonov, and Daniil Pichikin. Daniil Pichikin became the head of the media direction as well as the directions of evacuation and transportation. Sezon Kharitonov headed the financial and logistics direction as well as the coordination hotline for public support. Natalia Ardal’yanova became the director, information representative, and coordinator of the charitable foundation, as well as the curator of the humanitarian direction of support for low-mobility groups of the city’s population and the curator of the shelter.
The Charitable Foundation “Charitable Organization ARTAK – Together to the Dream” (hereinafter CO “CF ARTAK”) officially operates in accordance with a memorandum between CO “CF ARTAK” and the city authorities of Zaporizhzhia.
Our volunteer organization has been included in the city’s roadmap for first-response evacuation in critical circumstances after bombings. CO “CF ARTAK” is the only organization that specializes in assisting the most vulnerable and unprotected groups of the city’s population.
We are also the only ones who provide a full cycle of assistance for bedridden and low-mobility people. CO “CF ARTAK” has been entered into the state register of organizations providing social services, and we have also been included in the list of organizations carrying out socially useful work.
The Charitable Organization “CF ARTAK” has been providing social services in Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale invasion to vulnerable groups of the population and/or those in difficult life circumstances.
At present, the volunteer assistance point is located at 129 Kosmichna Street, where people fleeing from occupied territories, active combat zones, and frontline areas are being received. Due to the closure of the “Vasylivka” checkpoint, the City Council temporarily suspended its activities there, but evacuations from frontline villages and occupied towns are still ongoing. Hostilities and shelling of the city itself also continue. There remains a great need for resettlement and evacuation to safe cities, and therefore “CF ARTAK” continues its volunteer activities there, coordinating evacuations, resettlement, and the distribution of volunteer aid to rescued and affected residents of the city.
Our organization is always among the first to be involved in the city’s evacuation measures on the ground after attacks and bombings, acting as a coordinator for the evacuation and resettlement of affected residents of the city and frontline areas.
The team of CO “CF ARTAK” consists of 21 permanent evacuation volunteers and another 17 who are periodically engaged in cases of urgent need. However, 3 volunteers of the foundation are the co-founders and are critically important for the organizational process of coordinating the large volume of requests, as well as due to their direct involvement in the evacuation and transportation of low-mobility people from frontline towns of Zaporizhzhia region and within the city of Zaporizhzhia.
For the urgent necessity of ensuring the full evacuation cycle, on March 12, 2024, CO “CF ARTAK” finally opened its first evacuation center-shelter in Zaporizhzhia for low-mobility people, persons with special needs, and elderly people, called “Without Limits,” for 23 people. We are now planning the expansion and opening of the second part of the shelter for more than 60 people.
The work of the hostel consists in the fact that people who arrive there can calm down and decide what they need to do next, and find a place for further permanent residence. First of all, their vital needs for housing and food are met. Monitoring of physical condition is carried out regularly by the hostel staff. In case of deviations of physical health indicators from the norm, the hostel refugees are taken to the city hospital for hospitalization until recovery.
Those who suffered from shelling and lost their documents or bank cards receive assistance from our volunteers in contacting institutions and with transportation.
The evacuation center-shelter provides temporary accommodation for low-mobility people, persons with special needs, elderly people, and those affected by bombings, and it immediately became a center of comprehensive assistance and support for affected low-mobility people.
In just three months since the shelter opened, we have managed to help evacuate 345 people (including 124 people with limited mobility and 22 elderly people).
This is the only place in Zaporizhzhia fully equipped for the needs of low-mobility people, offering three free meals a day and a full cycle of social and legal support. It operates around the clock to receive and temporarily shelter people and to organize the complete cycle of their further evacuation to safe places across Ukraine and Europe.
We are also the only ones who help low-mobility and bedridden people reach medical institutions, government offices, and social services free of charge. Thanks to a high level of trust and the constant support of our international partners, our ability to assist the most vulnerable residents of the region continues to expand.
A large number of grateful testimonials from the people we have evacuated provide us with broad support on social media and motivate us in our further steps and development. CO “CF ARTAK” has been included in the list of charitable organizations recommended by the government hotline (15-48) and the city social protection hotline.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have helped evacuate more than 78,600 people. Thanks to our reliable partners, humanitarian aid has been provided to almost 91,500 individuals — including food packages, clothing, household items, shoes, toys, hygiene kits, as well as food and hygiene supplies for the road, for both adults and children. Targeted humanitarian aid has also been provided to nearly 2,430 individuals — including food packages and hygiene supplies for low-mobility adults and children, people with special needs, and the elderly.
The “CF “ARTAK” accompanies and helps transport people with limited mobility, people with special needs, the elderly and people affected by bombings to medical facilities and state institutions free of charge. This is more than 5380 за період діяльності).
At this moment, we have established a fairly stable schedule of evacuation routes:
Zaporizhzhia — Moldova
Zaporizhzhia — Chernivtsi — Ivano-Frankivsk
Zaporizhzhia — Lviv — Poland — Germany — Denmark — Norway — Finland
The assistance of CO “CF ARTAK” has repeatedly been recognized with gratitude, but for us the main meaning and motivation of our activity is to help our people every day.
The main goal of CO “CF ARTAK” is to give affected people HOPE for the future.
Take part in our events
Charity Fair
