15 227 children under the Fund's care
Almost enough to fill The O2 Arena in London, or the equivalent of 520 school classrooms.
Invest in children today
Shape the future tomorrowKEY IMPACT FIGURES FROM THE PAST YEAR
15 511 psychological therapy sessions for children & their guardians
Roughly the same number of hours it would take to watch more than 7,500 full-length films.
492 404 hours of educational support
If one person taught six sessions every day, without weekends or breaks, it would take them 225 years to deliver the same number of hours.
322 tonnes of humanitarian aid
The equivalent of 11 fully loaded shipping containers.
Anna Yermolaeva
HRD and CEO, Children of Heroes Charity Fund
«Despite all the challenges and constant uncertainty around us, this year brought us strong and stable results. The comparisons above are our way of making sense of the scale of support we have delivered together with you. On the following pages, you will learn more about the Fund's programmes, the stories of the children we support, and the impact that is changing their lives for the better.»
WHO WE SUPPORT
15 227
children
children10 670
families
families582
graduates
graduates98%
lost their father
lost their father1%
lost both parents
lost both parents1%
lost their mother
lost their mother5%
are children of civilians
are children of civilians95%
are children of service members
are children of service members15 227
children
10 670
families
582
graduates
98%
lost their father
1%
lost both parents
1%
lost their mother
95%
are children of service members
5%
are children of civilians
Hanna Khomenko
Program Management Director and COO, Children of Heroes Charity Fund
«Behind every figure in this data is the story of a child who has lost the person they loved most. Our role is to restore their sense of stability and belief in the world, and to provide every possible tool for their development and a dignified future.»
SUPPORT PROGRAMMES SHAPED BY OUR WORK WITH FAMILIES
Education and Development
Instead of learning, children are forced to flee the war. Instead of attending lessons, they have to hide in bomb shelters. Stress, remote learning, and gaps in knowledge create a build-up of urgent challenges that we address through a comprehensive programme-based approach.
Humanitarian Aid
More than a quarter of the children under our care live below the poverty line and need support with basic needs in order to feel safe. Practical household support provides stability, reduces stress, and helps families get through a difficult period without the crisis escalating.
Psychological Support and Socialisation
Anxiety disorders, sleep disruption, emotional instability, difficult adaptation, and complicated grief are only some of the challenges our psychologists and team work with as families recover and gradually return to life. We support families as they process loss, restore a sense of safety and stability, strengthen emotional resilience, and take gradual steps back into everyday life, learning, relationships, and social inclusion.
Case Management
This programme works with families in crisis situations, including loss of or damage to housing, serious health issues affecting a guardian or child, forced evacuation, unemployment, or acute financial instability. Without timely support, these circumstances can lead to deep social maladaptation, loss of the ability to provide for oneself, and the removal of a child from the family environment.
Family Helpers
After a loss, the world becomes smaller, and a family’s resources are often depleted. A Family Helper becomes a stability point in crisis: helping the family navigate the situation, access needed support, and build a pathway towards recovery and the child’s development.
Medical Support
This programme helps the most vulnerable groups of children access quality medical care without placing additional financial pressure on their families.
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Total assistance provided since 3 March 2022: USD 4,236,022 and more than 1,319,173 hours of educational support delivered
After the pandemic, the world came to recognise the scale of «learning loss», estimated at an average of around seven months of schooling. For Ukrainian children, this gap is immeasurably deeper, amounting to at least two years of learning**. The accumulated costs of learning losses since February 2022 is now estimated at approximately USD 7.8 billion***.
Drawing on its own expertise and internal research, in 2025 the Fund focused on helping children overcome learning loss and creating sustainable educational conditions. Twice a year, we survey families to assess programme effectiveness and gather children's feedback. The Fund prioritises programmes with long-term impact. One important innovation is combining educational support with psychological self-help skills, which helps increase the number of successfully passed exams and achieved personal goals.
The programme covers four key areas:
- Closing learning gaps: tutoring and group classes in mathematics, Ukrainian, and English;
- New knowledge and career guidance: creative classes, programming, STEM education, preparation for Ukraine's National Multi-Subject Test and university admission through the Formula of Success programme;
- Educational trips abroad: international language learning opportunities;
- Educational tools: providing devices for learning, as well as stationery and school supplies.
2026 FUNDING NEED: USD 1,039,215
*World Bank, COVID-19, School Closures, and Student Learning Outcomes
**OECD / UNICEF / UCEQA, PISA 2022: Ukrainian Regions
*** World Bank et al., Ukraine Fourth Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4)
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT AND SOCIALISATION
Varia's family lives in a frontline region. After her father was killed and, later, their home was destroyed by shelling, she was constantly affected by anxiety and tension. She worried about her mother, could not stop thinking about danger, withdrew into herself and avoided communication.
Through psychological consultations provided by the Fund, Varia gradually began to regain a sense of safety and trust. She became more open, made friends and experienced lower anxiety. One important sign of positive change was that she became more comfortable with hugs and close contact again, which had previously been difficult for her.
Today, Varia is returning to age-appropriate interests, with a better understanding of her emotional needs and self-support skills.
Our results in 2025:
15,511 individual consultations delivered.
2 009 people received individual support, including:
1 084 children and 925 guardians.
Support groups for guardians:
294 meetings for 253 guardians.
Support groups for children:
88 meetings for 141 children.
524 beneficiaries took part in art therapy.
20 psychoeducational lectures and webinars were delivered.
FAMILY HELPERS
A Family Helper is the family's first point of contact with the Fund. The specialist helps stabilise the situation when a child and guardian come under the Fund's care in an acute phase, restores a sense of support and development by connecting the child to relevant programmes, and stays alongside the family until the child reaches adulthood, helping them shape their future.
40 Family Helpers
14 337 children under support excluding children waiting to be assigned a helper or completing additional documents
245+ families, or 345+ children: average caseload per Family Helper as of 1 January 2026
94 964 contacts with families
98.86% average family satisfaction rate with Family Helpers in 2025
224 professional development certificates received
This is a unique model for Ukraine. Thanks to automation and internal workflows, a Family Helper can support a large number of family cases while maintaining regular contact and ensuring that no family is left alone with their loss. Our goal is to do everything we can to see socially active and psychologically resilient children who have the resources to grow and fulfil their potential, as well as families that can overcome life's challenges independently.
2026 FUNDING NEED: USD 1,245,008
HUMANITARIAN AID
During artillery shelling, a missile hit the home of a large family. The mother and grandmother were killed instantly, while the father and four children miraculously survived.
They live in a small old house where conditions were extremely difficult at first. For the third year, the Fund has been providing the family with regular support: a generator, clothes and shoes, hygiene products, food, medicines, household items such as dishes, pillows, mattresses and blankets, New Year gifts, devices for the children, stationery and medical insurance. The family also received a washing machine, which made daily life much easier for the father who had previously washed everything by hand. His daughters have grown up and now help him at home.
Ania studies pedagogy at college, Natalia has entered university to study psychology, Ira is finishing school this year, and Mykyta is preparing for Grade 1. Their father is deeply grateful for the ongoing support, without which the family cannot imagine how they would have coped.
In 2025:
41 090 recorded cases of assistance in our CRM
322 169 кг of humanitarian aid delivered to families
Yulia Svystunova,
Humanitarian Aid and Logistics Programme Director Children of Heroes Charity Fund
«In wartime, children who have lost parents face double vulnerability: traumatic experience and a sharp deterioration in social and economic conditions. The programme provides stability, predictability and a basic sense of safety amid uncertainty. Its strength lies in combining targeted humanitarian support with a clear logistics system and a project-based approach. We work through structured processes, with transparent selection, tracking and distribution of aid.»
2026 FUNDING NEED: USD 561,487
CASE MANAGEMENT
Beyond the loss of a loved one, war keeps bringing families new and serious challenges: loss of home or property, worsening health conditions, new illnesses, and deteriorating mental wellbeing. Thirteen-year-old twins Volodymyr and Dmytro found themselves in exactly this situation. Both boys have severe congenital conditions, including central nervous system damage, epileptic syndrome with complex polymorphic seizures, bronchial asthma and orthopaedic disorders. They need continuous treatment and monthly therapy prescribed by a medical board for six months. One of the boys experiences severe epileptic seizures, with an ambulance called almost every day. Their mother is raising the children alone and also has a disability.
To sustain their health and prevent complications, the boys needed a long course of treatment costing more than UAH 100,000, which was able to begin thanks to the joint efforts of the Fund and a partner. The family received UAH 124,808 in financial support for medicines, essential tests and treatment.
Case management means:
- Individual needs assessment and an action plan;
- Coordination of financial, medical, psychological and humanitarian support;
- Support from a Family Helper until the situation is fully stabilised.
In 2025:
320 individual crisis cases were processed;
90.19% of families confirmed the programme's effectiveness.
Albina Kyryliuk,
Programme Specialist Children of Heroes Charity Fund
«Behind every crisis case is a family living on the edge of exhaustion. Our task is not simply to close one request, but to walk alongside them through the hardest stage and help stabilise the situation so the family can move forward.»
2026 FUNDING NEED: USD 116,538
MEDICAL SUPPORT
When the full-scale invasion began, the father of Sashko and Anastasiia was killed by mortar shelling near their home. This tragedy changed the family's life forever. Sashko has congenital conditions and has already undergone several complex operations, with a long course of treatment still ahead. For him, medical insurance is not just care, but a matter of survival. Anastasiia is a sensitive, creative girl who loves drawing and singing. The stress she experienced during the war affected both her emotional and physical wellbeing. She needs regular check-ups and specialist support. The Fund helped the family receive medical insurance, humanitarian aid, school supplies, clothing, tutoring, IT courses and psychological support. This helped the children take their first steps towards recovery: Sashko began improving at school, and Nastia started opening up to the world again. Yet without their father, relatives or a stable income, the family remains extremely vulnerable. For them, medical insurance means knowing they can treat illnesses in time, without fearing every new pain or symptom.
In 2025:
485
children received voluntary medical insurance policies;
577 531
UAH was paid under insurance contracts during the reporting period.
The voluntary medical insurance programme gives families financial security during the war: treatment, examinations, hospitalisation and medicines are covered by insurance, without families having to spend their last savings. With medical infrastructure damaged and many families forced to relocate, insurance provides access to quality medical care online and offline, in public and private facilities across Ukraine. The programme reduces the risk of complications and chronic illness, supports children's physical stability and significantly eases the psychological pressure on guardians who have become the only adults in the family.
2026 FUNDING NEED: USD 677,744
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN USD
| For the period ended 31.12.2025 | For the period ended 31.12.2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Income / Contributions | 9,631,307 | 7,557,349 |
| Expenses | ||
| Project expenses | ||
| Programme expenses** | ||
| Psychological Support and Socialisation | 1,588,997 | 1,263,949 |
| Education and Development | 1,573,996 | 1,591,924 |
| Family Helpers | 1,214,096 | 920,148 |
| Humanitarian Support | 1,081,453 | 871,068 |
| Holiday Gifts | 555,363 | 686,614 |
| Medical Support | 387,336 | 291,468 |
| Emergency Support | 100,209 | 51 955 |
| Other Types of Assistance | 151,471 | 140,720 |
| Total Programme Expenses | 6,652,921 | 5,817,846 |
| Marketing and Communications | 429,371 | 306,726 |
| Fundraising and Donor Relations | 548,912 | 371,773 |
| Digital Marketing and Fundraising | 1,110,398 | 386,316 |
| Total Project Expenses | 8,741,602 | 6,882,661 |
| Administrative Expenses | 889,705 | 674,688 |
| Total Expenses | 9,631,307 | 7,557,349 |
* The financial overview for 2025 and 2024 is a summary of the consolidated financial statements of Children of Heroes Charity Fund, prepared in accordance with IFRS. The 2024 financial statements were audited by Crowe Erfohg Ukraine LLC, a member of the Crowe Global International network, and received an unqualified audit opinion. The audit of the 2025 financial statements is currently ongoing. The final audited figures for 2025 may differ from those presented in this report.
** In-kind goods and services included in programme expenses:
USD 2,446,475 in 2025.
USD 2,769,524 in 2024.
FEEDBACK FROM
OUR FAMILIES
Sedbergh School was another important step towards my goal: entering my dream university in Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, to study International Economic Relations with two foreign languages. Learning felt easy and enjoyable. Thanks to the clear explanations, interesting tasks and friendly atmosphere, I felt confident in every lesson. I noticed that I began speaking more freely, understanding texts better and building grammatically correct sentences. This level gave me not only knowledge but even more motivation to move forward. I am proud to have had such an unforgettable experience, which gave me the results I had hoped for during my time at the school. I would gladly take part in this kind of learning again!
«They say money cannot buy happiness, but you proved that it can be created! Thank you to the I Am Da Vinci camp for returning our children with their batteries charged to 200%. The camp counsellors are people with big hearts, and the sponsors are people with generous souls. Thank you for this safe, bright and unforgettable world you built for them!»
Thank you for the opportunity to gain new skills, develop constructive and logical thinking, and discover abilities in our child that school does not usually tap into. The experiments were interesting, educational and useful. We are grateful we had the chance to join the course!
Nataliia Asmolovska
♥♥♥♥♥
We are already on the train home. Tomorrow, the truly everyday life of being a mum begins again. I could not even have imagined how much time household chores take up until I visited the camp. It felt as though I had some «me time» in just 14–16 days. The organisation was wonderful at every stage. Everything was planned beautifully. The entire team was fully engaged in making sure that mothers and children felt comfortable and at ease. A wonderful place, delicious food. Such valuable sessions. Such genuine psychologists. I feel nothing but endless gratitude for this opportunity. My child says they want to come again.
Nataliia Asmolovska
♥♥♥♥♥
Children of Heroes Charity Fund — Annual Report. Invest in children today to shape the future tomorrow.