Support for the people of Ukraine

Social: Ensuring housing and water supply (WASH) in Kharkiv

In spring 2024, the Wilo-Foundation provided support for damaged housing in selected communities in the Ukrainian oblast of Kharkiv, aiming to repair these homes and restore basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services for the people. This ensured dignified living conditions and helped internally displaced persons return.

The measures were carried out by the association arche noVa e.V. (Dresden), which specializes in WASH issues, together with local partners. To identify the most urgent humanitarian needs, the arche noVa team conducted a needs assessment in eight selected communities in the Kharkiv oblast in February 2023. Based on arche noVa’s expertise, the work focused on the areas of WASH and shelter. Furthermore, existing WASH facilities in shelters for internally displaced persons had to be expanded and made inclusive, and hygiene kits were distributed to the population.

In the winter of 2025, the Wilo-Foundation once again supported measures by arche noVa e.V. in the Kherson Oblast in Ukraine, by donating funds for winter relief to support the local population during the cold winter months.

Funding partner: arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden

Additionally, the Wilo-Foundation supported the evacuation of Ukrainian orphans by the Polish organization Fundacja Happy Kids. The evacuation of children from public orphanages and foster families from Ukraine to Poland was carried out in close cooperation between Fundacja Happy Kids and the city of Łódź and was agreed upon with the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

Funding partners: Habitat for Humanity Deutschland e.V., Köln; Fundacja Happy Kids, Łódź (Poland)

Education: Lighthouses and laptops for Ukrainian schoolchildren in Dortmund

In 2022, the Wilo-Foundation took on ten “Refugee Mentorships” for children who had fled Ukraine. This program provided – in addition to the “climb learning holidays” that have taken place in Dortmund primary schools since 2015 – an extra qualified mentor (“Lighthouse”) to care for Ukrainian refugee children, engaging in conversations with them, promoting language skills, and accompanying them on excursions.

Funding partner: CLIMB gGmbH, Hamburg

The non-profit educational organization Das macht Schule e.V., Hamburg has been successfully supporting educational projects across Germany for years and quickly developed a support project for Ukrainian children with the goal of providing as many of them as possible with a laptop – refurbished, cleaned, tested, and free of charge. As part of the “Laptops for Children from Ukraine” initiative, this was jointly realized by two Dortmund foundations, the Wilo-Foundation and the ProFiliis Foundation. Through the donation campaign “Laptops for Refugee Children from Ukraine,” a total of 40 students in Dortmund received laptops.

Funding partner: Das macht Schule e.V., Hamburg

Culture: Proceeds from benefit concerts support aid organizations in Ukraine

On March 17, 2022, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, in cooperation with the Ruhr Piano Festival, hosted a benefit concert and collected donations for the children’s rights organization Save the Children Germany. Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pablo Ferrández, and Lauma Skride performed with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christoph Poppen. After the concert, a reception was held in the Wilo-Foundation Lounge. Thanks to the nearly 1,500 concertgoers, ticket sales and additional donations from supporters, including the Wilo-Foundation, raised a total of about 170,000 euros in donations. Save the Children has been active in Ukraine since 2014, providing vital humanitarian aid to children and their families. With the donations from the benefit concert, the organization provided, among other things, food, clothing, healthcare, shelter, as well as educational and social services.

Förderpartner: Save the Children e.V., Berlin

On June 3, 2022, at the invitation of the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund, the Ukrainian trombonist Polina Tarasenko (a scholarship holder of the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund) and the young internationally renowned Russian cellist Anastasia Kobekina performed as soloists with the chamber orchestra Les Essences under the direction of the Turkish concertmaster Önder Baloglu. Even before the concert began, the two artists attended a reception for honored guests in the Wilo-Foundation Lounge at the invitation of the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund. The proceeds from the evening, totaling 25,000 euros, went to the aid organization CARE for people in Ukraine and the Clinic for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Dortmund, which helps sick refugee Ukrainian children and their families.

Photo Header: Habitat for Humanity Deutschland e.V., Köln