A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
We're spending some time this holiday season speaking with people doing good. That's how we learned about Yuriy Boyechko. In 2016, he founded Hope for Ukraine, a humanitarian nonprofit based in New Jersey.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Ukrainians will be experiencing yet another Christmas dealing with Russia's all-out assault. And this time of year is especially difficult for children.
YURIY BOYECHKO: Because in the end of the day, they only want to be kids. They don't want to live through this horror.
MARTÍNEZ: So Boyechko's organization is gathering thousands of gifts to send to Ukraine, all of which will be hand delivered. He wants to lift the spirits of Ukrainian children, many of whom have lost loved ones in the war.
BOYECHKO: Things like school supplies, some books, some sweets, you know, socks, hats, just the basic things that they would need and to cheer them on. But for them, you know, it's not so much the content of the gift, but the thought that somebody cares about them.
MARTIN: It's not just kids in Ukraine who could use some relief. Russia's bombardments on Ukraine's energy grid has affected millions as winter has set in. For the first time, Boyechko and his team will also provide solar generators and electric cooktops to 40 families living on the front line.
BOYECHKO: Most of them have lived without power for two-plus years, and we have no idea when they're going to get power.
MARTÍNEZ: He says the solar generators Hope for Ukraine will deliver take about five hours to charge and can last up to eight hours.
BOYECHKO: It's very portable, as far as, you know, you can basically take it anyway. Even if you live on a 10th floor of the apartment building, you can take that unit, you can put these solar batteries on your balcony, right? And they can charge like that.
MARTÍNEZ: He says that even if the war ended tomorrow, it'll still take years to fully restore the energy supply.
MARTIN: Boyechko lives in the U.S. but visits Ukraine every year. His father and three sisters still live in western Ukraine.
BOYECHKO: My hope for Ukraine is for this war to end and for Ukraine to be rebuilt and become a leader of democracy in Europe.
MARTIN: As long as the war continues, Boyechko says, he plans to continue supporting Ukrainians.
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