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A charity concert dedicated to the 30th anniversary of ADRA Ukraine was one of the events organized by ADRA Ukraine to help Ukrainians in the frontline areas survive the winter. On December 2nd last year, special guests People’s Artists of Ukraine Oksana Bilozir and Viktor Pavlik, as well as other performers and a chamber choir, presented their art to about 700 visitors at the Left Bank Spiritual Center in Kyiv. During the event, representatives of ADRA Ukraine spoke about the humanitarian aid that Ukrainians are currently receiving from the organization. The funds raised through the concert were used to purchase firewood for residents of the Kherson Region affected by the war. The charity project was implemented jointly with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Southern Region. Serhii Stepaniuk, Head of PR at ADRA Ukraine, tells more about the project’s idea and results.

— Serhii, how did you come up with the idea to hold such a charity event?

— When we were celebrating the 30th anniversary of ADRA Ukraine and planning a concert dedicated to this event, we decided to do it in the charity fundraising format. We wanted to help people affected by the war. So we turned to our volunteers from the Adventist Church and told them about the needs of people for whom we could raise these funds. The leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Southern region offered to buy firewood for the Kherson Region. The church has volunteers who are constantly visiting the affected people, helping to dry the houses that were flooded as a result of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant explosion, and delivering humanitarian aid. They knew that in winter, the residents of Kherson and Kherson Region really need firewood. First of all, the entire infrastructure there was destroyed. So they could heat their homes only with stoves. Moreover, they couldn’t collect firewood, for example, in the nearest forest belts because everything was contaminated with landmines. People were simply afraid to go to the woods to collect firewood. Accordingly, they had to buy it, and this required money. So we decided to collect donations through the charity concert to buy this firewood and deliver it to the people of Kherson Region to help them survive the winter.

— Is the format of charity concerts traditional for ADRA Ukraine, or is it, let’s say, something new, a unique event?

— I’ve joined ADRA Ukraine’s team relatively recently, so I may not know everything, but I don’t recall any large-scale concerts organized by our agency in Ukraine. However, I do know that abroad, in some European cities, similar charity events are periodically held to raise funds to help certain people in need. In Ukraine, at least since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, there have been no such concerts. So we decided to try this format and, as practice has shown, the result was quite good.

— How exactly was the fundraising done?

— The concert was held in the Left Bank Spiritual Center in Kyiv, and the event was attended by about 700 people. The entrance was free, but during the concert, some fundraising activities were held to support our beneficiaries . People could donate money in cash, or they could use the QR code and remit money online by a wire transfer. After the concert, a charity fair was held in the small hall of the Left Bank Spiritual Center. The children of congregation who attend this church, teenagers from the Pathfinder club, together with their parents, baked goodies and sold them at the fair, and the proceeds were used for the same charitable purpose. On the day of the concert, 110 thousand hryvnias were raised online and in cash, along with the money from the fair. But the concert was also broadcast online, it could be viewed on YouTube and Facebook (at the moment, I think there are about five and a half thousand views on YouTube, and another four and a half thousand views on Facebook). Accordingly, after the concert, people watched the recording and continued to donate for at least a month after the event. The total amount of donations we received was 162,800 UAH, and we handed over these money to the Adventist Church in the Southern Region. Thanks to these funds, the church purchased 22 tons of fuel briquettes made from sunflower husks and distributed them to 50 households in the private sector in Kherson and the surrounding areas. In particular, these are the villages of Andriyivka, Antonivka, 1st and 2nd districts, where the centralized gas supply system was damaged in the shellfire. In addition to briquettes, volunteers distributed brochures on psychological assistance.

— How did the beneficiaries respond to it?

— They were sincerely grateful. They were pleased by the fact that the funds were raised by Ukrainians themselves, that Kherson residents could feel support of people from Kyiv and other cities and even countries. Since Kherson residents very exhausted by the constant fighting, ad any support from their fellow citizens was very important to them.

— Organizing a large-scale concert is not an easy task. In addition to raising money for a good cause, what other goals did you have in mind when arranging this show?

— Our goal was not only to raise funds. We had several goals in mind. One of them was to present ADRA Ukraine’s activities to the church, which actually founded our organization. We also used this chance to promote our communications with non-church actors, because ADRA’s mission is to serve the whole society in general, any people in need.

— How did famous artists who performed at the concert – Oksana Bilozir and Viktor Pavlik – perceived this project?

— To begin with, since I used to work on television and had certain contacts with many famous people in Ukraine. Although we were not close friends, but I had quite good relationship with both Oksana Bilozir and Viktor Pavlik. We sometimes messaged each other and had some conversations on social media. And so, when I invited them to participate in such an event, they gladly agreed, because they knew who I was, they trusted me to a certain extent. Since we asked them to sing Christian songs, and they were believers themselves, they were actually pleased to do it. It was a great opportunity for them, because they usually sing at various social events, where there is a demand for a slightly different repertoire. At the same time, both Viktor Pavlik and Oksana Bilozir were actively engaged in volunteer work and were aware of the existing humanitarian issues, so they gladly agreed to support our concert by taking part in it.

— Are you planning to similar concerts in the future, to develop this charity event format?

— We have received quite a lot of positive feedback after this concert, and we realized that such events are well received by the audience, both those coming offline and those watching online. So, of course, we will continue this practice, because it is interesting and efficient. We can use this format to support some projects, help people in need. Therefore, we are planning another similar concerts with other participants in May this year, but more information about it will be available later. There are plans to hold such events periodically, at least twice a year. Of course, it’s very difficult to plan things in advance under the current circumstances, but we already have some ideas. In addition to the May one, we would also like to organize a concert at the end of the year, for example, in early December, when Ukraine celebrates the Day of Charity. Perhaps we will focus not only on concerts but also on other social events that we can use to help other people. We will develop this idea and try to be creative to do our charity work in the best possible way.