The year 2023 will go down in the history of our community in the United States as a year of numerous charitable events aimed at helping Ukraine, supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, raising funds for humanitarian needs, as well as for cultural institutions, museums, and schools. People of good will are not standing aside from the war in Ukraine and are doing their part to contribute to the victory over the Muscovites during these difficult times.
The Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Foundation in America invites you to participate in the “Academy of Victories” charity events to support the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Veterans Resource Center. This project includes various areas of work, including innovative educational programs, psychological support, and the return of veterans to active professional and social life. This project also includes the inclusiveness of the university campus: the accessibility of all buildings for people with disabilities and special needs. 
Importantly, the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Center for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, with corresponding regional centers and active psychological assistance projects in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia regions, and the city of Kyiv, was founded and began working with veterans and other social groups of Ukrainians affected by the war, since 2015. After the liberation of Bucha, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy opened such a center in Bucha.
Founded in 1615 and revived on September 19, 1991, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy shapes new generations of national leaders, fosters critical thinking, and promotes the ideas of freedom, victory, and love for one's people—values that reinforce Ukrainian identity. Three important events will take place in December 2023: 
December 1 – the first charity banquet at the University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, founded in 1868. Among the graduates, teachers, and scientists of this university are 51 Nobel Prize winners.
December 3 – the second charity banquet at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles.  
December 9 – the third charity event in Chicago, at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art.
The return of veterans to active professional and public life is one of the main tasks facing Ukrainian society. Therefore, the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Foundation in America is initiating these events to tell about Mohyla, about the new challenges and achievements of the oldest Ukrainian university, and to pay tribute to the memory of Mohyla students who gave their lives for Ukraine in this war.
The main guest speakers will be graduates of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy:
Yuriy Gorodnichenko, president of the board of directors of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Foundation in America, one of the world's leading economists, professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Taras Lukachuk, founder of the Kyiv-Mohyla Charitable Foundation (Kyiv 2023) and teaching scholarships for faculty members of the Department of Economics and the Department of English, former president of Jacobs Kraft Suchard, as well as Mondelez in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 
Oleksandr Kostyuk, PhD in Technical Sciences, Director of the Information and Computing Center at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, graduate of the Executive MBA program at Kyiv-Mohyla Business School. Volunteer, platoon commander in the Territorial Defense Forces, lieutenant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From the first day of the full-scale war, Oleksandr defended Ukraine as part of the 130th Territorial Defense Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On December 13, 2022, he was seriously wounded when he stepped on an enemy mine in the Bakhmut direction.
Last year, on Christmas Eve, Oleksandr Kostyuk posted a photo of a car blown up by a mine on Facebook: "We were in this car... I was rotating from positions that had already become familiar. On the road, which we traveled so often and so intensively that sometimes traffic jams formed. A road that had been checked by sappers. More than once. But even compliance with all these conditions did not help to avoid being blown up by a mine. Because when they tell you that in war, every step to the left or right is a big risk, know that this is by no means an exaggeration. Because Ukrainians have to overcome difficult obstacles to gain their independence, at the cost of their own efforts and the blood of their sons and daughters.
I was lucky. The steering wheel was not on the side that could have been fatal. I was lucky to have brothers-in-arms who pulled me out, gave me first aid, and evacuated me in time. I was lucky to get to doctors who know their stuff. I am happy that I came out of this whole situation unscathed.
Now I am in a Kyiv hospital with an amputated foot. Operations have become a daily routine for me, and I need painkillers like water. A long rehabilitation process is beginning. A full-fledged marathon. I believe that I will be able to return, and I plan to continue fighting in the Armed Forces. Thank God, modern treatment technologies make this possible.

At the same time, the war continues for hundreds of thousands of my brothers-in-arms who are ready to keep fighting, regardless of the risks. Regardless of everything they have to face every day. These people are titans. All they need is to remember the importance of the cause for which they are sacrificing their health and lives. Remember that.

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!

You can meet our hero, Oleksandr Kostyuk, in person at charity banquets in California and Chicago. Today, education is his second front. He continues his work at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, improving information technologies, without which victory is impossible. Together to Victory!

Maria Klymchak,

Program Director, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Foundation in America