Youth Organize Charity Run Across Ukraine to Benefit Premature Babies

Two young men running more than 600 miles in 41 days across the largest country inside Europe is not just impressive, it was enough to raise over $50,000 for premature babies in Ukraine.

While studying in the United States, Eurasian Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) fellow Andriy Maksymovych became friends with an activist who had biked across America, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Connecticut soup kitchens. After returning home, Andriy adapted the idea in his native Ukraine and organized “Race for Children,” running from his country's eastern to western border to benefit maternity wards and raise awareness of social and corporate responsibility.

After 41 days on the road, Andriy and his running partner Kostyantyn Labartkava arrived in Lviv, but the fundraising efforts didn't stop there. Race for Children volunteers have collected over $50,000 in donations from individuals and corporations to purchase and install brand-new incubators for several Lviv maternity hospitals. The campaign will continue as an ongoing fundraising initiative to benefit maternity hospitals in different districts of Lviv region as well as districts in Luhansk region, in the east of Ukraine, where the race began.

Andriy was recognized by Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers with the Award for Particular Achievements of Youth in the Development of Ukraine, and the project was included in a collection of National Best Practices of Youth Policy issued by the Kharkiv regional government and local NGOs. The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Eurasia and Central Asia (formerly Eurasian UGRAD) is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US Department of State and is administered by IREX. The Race for Children was funded in part by an ECA Alumni Small Grant.