Map of the City of Goodness
Our Structure
6 Buildings
39 Rooms for mothers
3 Bomb shelters
4 Canteens
4 Kitchens
2 Libraries
3 Outdoor playgrounds
6 Playspaces
2 Classrooms
Medical center
Dog shelter
Gym
Sewing workshop
Laundry
School for mothers
Psychologist’s office
Canistherapy center
Our Licences
City of Goodness operates in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation, holding all necessary licences and certificates:
- Continuing professional development provider, registration number 1479
- In accordance with the order of the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control No. 216 dated 15.02.2025, a licence for the use of precursors was obtained.
- The decision of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 1603 dated 11.09.2023 on issuance of a licence to carry out the medical practice.
Our Mission
At the City of Goodness, our mission is to provide a safe haven with comprehensive and compassionate support for women and children navigating challenging hardships.
We take in children who have been forced to evacuate because of the war, families affected by violence and domestic abuse, and children in need of palliative care or rehabilitation. Our children and women receive intensive care, from assistance in evacuation and transportation to providing medical, psychological, legal and humanitarian care, even after they leave us.
Our home is a place of love, comfort, and safety, where mothers and children can start a new life. Thousands of dedicated individuals have poured their hearts and souls into the City of Goodness so that anyone who seeks refuge here can heal and grow.
Our core values are kindness, respect, openness, and attention to the smallest detail.
We do not receive any funding from the government. Instead, we rely solely on the generosity of those who believe in raising the standards for social shelters, caring for children in need, and helping the most vulnerable Ukrainians overcome poverty and insecurity.
We are always looking for wizards and partners who want to help us and become an important part of the incredible work we do. Contact us!
A message from our founder, Marta Levchenko
If you are visiting this page, it’s because you care about the future of Ukrainian children, the environment we are shaping today, and the legacy we wish to leave behind.
Ever since I was young, I have been consciously aware of other people’s pain, needs, and injustice. I could not understand why responsible adults did not create safe spaces where everyone could feel secure and loved.
As dreamers, my closest family, friends, and I worked together to support children living in poverty to help their dreams come true. We would invite children across the region to our company’s holiday festivities. We got to know them, fell in love with them, and soon discovered that these children only knew pain, fear, hunger, illness, and hopelessness.
We decided to shift directions and develop the I am the Future of Ukraine Foundation, in which we implemented more than 50 projects to support children and give them even more opportunities to thrive. My team and I researched and studied internationally to understand how we can provide a place with high-quality care and protection for the women and children we work with.
During my charity mission to Kolkata, I realised what this space should look like. It couldn’t be a house or a rented space. It needed to be a place that could protect our children for centuries: A sanctuary.
This is how the City of Goodness was born.
For me, the City of Goodness is an eternity project. My tasks won’t ever end, and the “done” status will likely come when I am long gone. Even the trees we’ve planted become adults when they’re 100, such as the Cercis tree in my photo. It grows 1.5 mm every 5 years and will become an adult in 2123.
We are always growing, always building, always creating a place where everyone feels safe and at home.
I am supported in this mission by my wonderful family— my husband Denys, with whom we planned every step of our charitable projects together; Our daughter, who loves children, sees and understands everything I do and who will be able to take on this work herself some day; and our adopted daughter from the Oleshky orphanage, who is in a wheelchair
I have no tolerance for injustice and am ready to do anything to help others feel joy. I believe in people and am grateful to everyone who supports us.
Every time you come back to the City of Goodness, I promise we will be creating new opportunities for the children and women of Ukraine at that very moment.
Our History
The City of Goodness was born out of necessity to help women who were forced to give up their children due to domestic violence, homelessness, or poverty. Over time, we discovered that the original resources we provided were not working because we did not have a place for the women to go. A place where women could take back control of their lives and rebuild. We decided to create that space.
ESTABLISHING
2016
The City of Goodness started in a rented building.
2017
We purchased our first plot for our shelter.
2018
Construction began.
2020
The City of Goodness officially opened.
2022
Construction of new buildings for evacuated children from orphanages.
2023
Built the aсanistherapy centre, a women’s rights department and a medical centre with rehabilitation and palliative care units.
Plans for 2024 and on
Construction of an inclusive school.
Philosophy
“There is no faster way to provide children with necessary things than by ensuring the success of their mothers.
Here, there is hope, peace, safety and love. We are not just a shelter. We are home. Behind every room where our families live, there is a world full of life and color. Our playrooms, children’s rooms, and buildings are vibrant and warm. . We don’t want our space to look like an infirmary, a social centre, or an orphanage. We want all who come to feel like they’re at home.” – Marta Levchenko, founder.
Many of the women and children who live with us move on to become volunteers in various fields. While living at the City of Goodness, they feed those without homes, care for abandoned animals, and actively participate in our foundation’s other activities.
We provide transparent reporting and comprehensive long-term assistance with the help of our team of lawyers, doctors, and specialists. We deeply understand the women and children we work with and have experience providing education, humanitarian aid, medical and psychological aid, and social protection.
Reports
Our organisation is not funded by the government. We are charity-based and supported by donations. We currently have more than 300 residents and 35 animals living with us on an unstable budget in a war-ridden country. We spend hundreds of thousands of hryvnias per month caring for and tending to our residents, and we cannot afford to keep going without your donations.
During the war, we’ve had even more families come through our doors to recover and move on to be independent with our support.
We are always building and expanding. We have just completed constructing a rehabilitation centre with a palliative care unit, and our next project is an inclusive school.
We refuse to cut corners when it comes to our children’s wellbeing. Many who arrive at the City of Goodness have never had access to a proper diet, which greatly impacts their health. We’re committed to providing children with nutritious meals full of meat, dairy, fresh vegetables, and fruit.
Our medical centre, House of Butterflies, requires large-scale funding, qualified health staff, expensive medicine, medical devices, and other daily expenses. We navigate unpredictable challenges daily and seek supporters who care about sustaining our home as a place of love and refuge.