The big meeting at the InterContinental Kyiv to raise funds for Tabletochki

This Friday, The Big Meet is hosting an evening of networking and connection at the InterContinental Hotel with proceeds benefiting the Tabletochki Charity Foundation, Ukraine’s leading organization helping families of children battling cancer.

Ahead of the June 21 event, Kyiv Post caught up with The Big Meet’s Olga Kearly, owner and chief organizer, and discussed the outdoor gathering in the InterContinental Kyiv’s summer garden and the latest beneficiary of their support.

She told us how, in addition to being the #1 networking event in Kyiv, The Big Meet helps support Ukrainians with children battling cancer, both by raising funds with part of the profits from the event and promoting the ongoing efforts of the Tabletchki Foundation to help these families.

We also met Viacheslav Bykov, CEO of the Tablechki Charitable Foundation, Ukraine’s largest charity helping families affected by childhood cancer. He told the Kyiv Post how the foundation supports families, pediatric hospitals and medical staff, and advocates for changes in Ukraine’s healthcare system.

For immediate information on attending The Big Meet event at Intercontinental Kyiv, click here.

What makes the InterContinental Kyiv Summer Garden the ideal venue for this event?

Olga Kearley: The summer season in kyiv is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and we strive to organize our events in a beautiful outdoor setting. The InterContinental Kyiv Summer Garden is a beautiful venue that fits this vision perfectly. It puts you at the gateway to the historic city: the golden-domed St. Michael Monastery is just a stone’s throw away, and you’re just a few minutes from bustling Khreshchatyk Street. As one of the best luxury hotels in kyiv, it offers an ideal atmosphere that perfectly suits our guests.

Why did you choose Tablets as a beneficiary of this event?

Olga Kearley: We chose Tabletochki as the beneficiary of this event because, amidst the turmoil of war, it is easy to forget the ongoing struggles of those battling cancer. Tabletochki provides crucial support to Ukrainian children with cancer and their families, ensuring they receive the care and resources they need. Our goal is to raise 22,500 UAH, and people can donate now through its online fundraising link here.

In addition, a percentage of the profits from the event will also be donated. By supporting Tabletochki, we can help keep the focus on these vulnerable people and make a tangible difference to their lives during these difficult times. Viacheslav, CEO of Tabletochki, can give more insight into the foundation’s impactful work.

Viacheslav, tell us about Tablets Charity Foundation and how exactly you help children fight cancer.

Vyacheslav Bykov: Tablechki is the largest Ukrainian charitable foundation aimed at helping families affected by childhood cancer. Since 2011, Tabletochki has supported children and their families at each stage of the disease. We intervene in four areas: targeted support for families, systemic support for hospitals where pediatric cancer treatment is concentrated, continuing professional development of medical staff and the promotion of changes in the health system.

Every month, 400 children with cancer are cared for by the Foundation, including children who continue their treatment in Ukraine and those who have been displaced abroad. In recent years, our targeted aid alone has covered more than 7,500 families.

The full-scale invasion changed every aspect of public life. How has this affected the treatment of children with cancer in Ukraine and your support for these children?

Vyacheslav Bykov: At the start of the large-scale invasion, access to care became significantly more difficult. Delivering medicine to children with cancer required complex logistics. Continued cancer treatment is critically important to a child’s recovery. We therefore tried to evacuate families for treatment abroad; for a short time, we were forced to betray our principle of bringing treatment to children and bring children to treatment instead.

Over time, the situation stabilized. Now Ukrainian children can receive the necessary treatment in most cases. Only in rare cases are families evacuated abroad. These are children who need treatment that is currently unavailable in Ukraine or very expensive treatment here, but abroad we can find partners who help them for free.

Regarding the impact of large-scale war on the work of the foundation, we are receiving more and more requests for help from the families we support. Children with cancer are now fighting two battles: against their illness and in a country at war. In addition to grueling and long-term treatment, new problems emerged: forced evacuation to safer places, parents defending Ukraine, and reduced family income due to the country’s economic instability. All this makes them even more vulnerable.

What message would you like to convey to Kyiv Post readers and participants of The Big Meet?

Vyacheslav Bykov: It is now increasingly difficult to draw public attention to pediatric oncology problems and raise funds from donors and partners, as aid has shifted to the needs of the military , which is entirely appropriate and logical. But the children can’t wait for the war to end. They need treatment here and now.

To raise funds to help these children, our team must redouble their efforts, seek new opportunities to collaborate with partners and donors, including abroad, and develop creative ways to engage thought leaders and the media.

Despite these challenges, we do not stop and continue to find new ways to help and cooperate with our partners and donors to provide vital support.

Make donations to help Ukrainian children with cancer through the Tabletchki Charity Foundation. please click here.