Stand for U celebrates its birthday!

In June 2026, Stand for U turns one year old, but it has been operating for four years and five months!

How is that possible?

It’s simple:

4 years and 5 months ago — on the very first day of the full-scale invasion — we (not yet acquainted with one another, but full of love for Ukraine) started to act. We acted without any official status, simply because we couldn't do otherwise. We then formed the community group Stands for Ukraine Brighton and Hove and the volunteer initiative, The Ray of Hope. Since then, we have worked for the community and for Ukraine, and we have also worked to register our group as an official charity.

1 year ago — on June 16, 2025 — our long journey toward official registration finally ended in success. Behind us were three and a half years of struggle, bureaucracy, and several rejections, but we did it!

That is why June is such a special month for us. It is Stand for U's legal birthday, which now symbolically unites both that frantic start back in February 2022 and our journey to becoming an official charity.

And this is a wonderful opportunity to tell the public more about how we work, what we have achieved during this time, and what challenges we face.

But why have we shared so little until now? Because the entire time, we’ve been running a sprint. Our hands were rarely free for social media: we were running drop-ins and events, providing consultations, filling out paperwork, volunteering, sourcing resources, sending aid, and trying to balance it all with work and family. It felt like the work spoke for itself. But the time has come to step out of the shadows.

We are still sprinting as the war in Ukraine is not over, but we will make one more push. Throughout this month, we will be sharing our story, photo archives, successes, and the challenges we face every single day.

Stay tuned! 🤝 Also, subscribe to our official Telegram channel (in Ukrainian) if it’s more convenient for you to read our updates there: 👉 https://t.me/For_Ukraine_BnH