100 Years of Action: UNWLA’s Centennial Year in Review
In 2025, the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) marked a historic milestone — 100 years of service to Ukraine and Ukrainian communities across the United States.
Founded in New York City in 1925, UNWLA has grown from a grassroots community organization into a national civic institution — one that has stood with the people of Ukraine through every crisis, from the Holodomor to russia’s ongoing war.
Our centennial year matched that legacy with action. UNWLA members organized nearly 500 educational and cultural events nationwide, directed over $586,416 in humanitarian relief to Ukraine, mobilized 51 community events across 14 states to advocate for abducted Ukrainian children, and joined hundreds of advocates from all 50 states at two Ukraine Action Summits on Capitol Hill.
On October 19, in the city where it all began, UNWLA celebrated its centennial with Legacy in Motion — a multimedia performance honoring a century of courage, sisterhood, and commitment. Branches and regional councils across the country held their own commemorative events, exhibitions, and service initiatives, turning a national milestone into a local celebration.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recognized UNWLA’s century of solidarity, calling it “the courage to be the voice of truth — the strength of women’s solidarity that can transcend borders and circumstances.”
This year also saw major cultural milestones: the launch of the Ukrainian Book Challenge with Harvard’s Ukrainian Research Institute, the publication of A Century of Commitment: The UNWLA Story, and landmark exhibitions at The Ukrainian Museum in New York and the Museum of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Kyiv.
A century in, our mission has never been more urgent — or more united.
In its centennial year, UNWLA’s 1,690 members across 58 branches organized more than 480 events nationwide — from cultural programs and educational panels to advocacy campaigns and community service.
UNWLA members led 175 advocacy events in support of Ukraine and mobilized 51 “Children Praying for Children” events across 14 states, raising awareness about Ukrainian children abducted by russia.
2025 marked 100 years since UNWLA’s founding in New York City — a century of unwavering commitment to Ukraine and Ukrainian communities in America.
Medical supplies were delivered to hospitals in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Dnipro.
Through the Scholarship Sponsorship Program, UNWLA directed $110,900 to support Ukrainian students in Ukraine and Brazil.
300 elderly women in Ukraine received stipends through the Babusi Fund.
More than 300 children and families from frontline and occupied communities across Ukraine attended summer and winter camps in the western region of the country.
Children Praying for Children
During the weekend of May 31–June 1, UNWLA and its partner organizations held 51 prayer events in 14 states as part of the growing national campaign “Children Praying for Children.”
More than 40 houses of worship — representing Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and interfaith communities — joined in solidarity to raise awareness of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children illegally abducted by russian authorities.
Keep Ukraine Warm
Launched each November, the annual Keep Ukraine Warm campaign addresses the life-threatening winter conditions caused by continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions without heat or electricity. Through the generosity of UNWLA members and supporters nationwide, this campaign delivers critical winter assistance to women defenders, hospitals across Ukraine, single elderly women, and more.
Holodomor Remembrance
Thirty-nine branches (nearly 70% of all) were involved with events or initiatives commemorating the Holodomor, including commemorative processions, film screenings, a Remembrance Ceremony featuring artistic performances and visual art, and prayer services and community liturgies involving children.
In 2025, UNWLA also published an updated Holodomor Remembrance Toolkit to support branches and community organizations in organizing their commemorations.
In 2025, UNWLA helped transform support for Ukraine into one of the largest sustained grassroots advocacy efforts within the Ukrainian-American community. Through our nationwide network, members organized 175 advocacy engagements across the country, mobilized communities in dozens of states, and helped bring Ukraine’s cause directly into nearly 900 congressional offices through the Ukraine Action Summits organized by the American Coalition for Ukraine.
UNWLA members played a leading role within the coalition itself — chairing the ACU Board of Directors, leading advocacy teams, and helping coordinate nationwide civic engagement during a period of growing political uncertainty surrounding support for Ukraine. Our advocacy contributed to increased public and legislative attention to the issue of abducted Ukrainian children, including the advancement of S.2119 and national media coverage on CNN.
Beyond Capitol Hill, UNWLA strengthened public visibility and grassroots solidarity for Ukraine across the United States. Through 111 Ukraine Independence Day events in 39 states, advocacy campaigns, public rallies, interfaith initiatives, media engagement, and outreach beyond the Ukrainian-American community, UNWLA helped ensure that Ukraine remained visible in American civic life and public conversation.
At a time when Ukraine’s history, culture, and identity continue to be misunderstood or misrepresented, UNWLA helped bring authentic Ukrainian voices into libraries, universities, community spaces, and public conversations across the United States. Through educational programs, scholarship support, literary initiatives, and national grassroots outreach, our members helped more people encounter and understand Ukraine through its own history, culture, and lived experience.
At a time when Ukrainian culture continues to face erasure and distortion, UNWLA helped bring Ukrainian music, literature, art, and cultural memory into public spaces and communities across the United States. Through performances, exhibitions, literary initiatives, and cultural partnerships, our members ensured that Ukrainian culture was not only preserved, but actively experienced, shared, and celebrated by new audiences around the country.
Ukrainian culture – both its deep heritage and its living, evolving expression – remains central to UNWLA’s mission, particularly at a time when it faces ongoing efforts to erase and misrepresent it. In our centennial year, cultural programming became a powerful expression of continuity, resilience, and presence across communities nationwide.
As one of the largest Ukrainian-American grassroots organizations in the United States, UNWLA delivered meaningful, sustained support to women, children, the elderly, and front-line communities at a time of ongoing existential threat to Ukraine’s people and future. Through medical aid, mental health programs, humanitarian assistance, and long-standing initiatives such as the Babusi Fund, our members helped meet urgent needs while sustaining dignity, stability, and hope.
Guided by a century-long mission of service to Ukraine and its people, UNWLA has consistently responded to moments of greatest need through humanitarian action. Today, that work continues with urgency—supporting hospitals, caring for children and families, and providing critical assistance to the women defending Ukraine on the front lines.
2025 marked the centennial of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America – a once-in-a-century milestone that galvanized our membership and reenergized our mission. Founded on June 1, 1925, by eight visionary women, UNWLA celebrated 100 years of empowering Ukrainian women, preserving cultural heritage, and fostering community service within the Ukrainian-American diaspora. Our centennial was not only a celebration of the past, but a reaffirmation of UNWLA’s role in the century ahead.
On October 19, 2025, UNWLA celebrated its centennial at New York’s historic Bohemian National Hall, in the city where the organization was born. The event featured Legacy in Motion, a powerful multimedia performance bringing to life 100 years of courage, sisterhood, and commitment through original storytelling, music, and rare archival imagery. A special message from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised UNWLA’s century of solidarity. Ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S. Olga Stefanishyna, Andrii Melnyk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, joined the celebration, as did Orystslava Sydorchuk, President of the Ukrainian Women’s League of Ukraine.
UNWLA published its landmark centennial history book, A Century of Commitment: The UNWLA Story (1925–2025), by Dr. Martha Kichorowska Kebalo. Generously sponsored by the Orest and Lidia Bilous Family Foundation, the book chronicles UNWLA’s remarkable journey from its founding through decades of advocacy, humanitarian aid, and cultural and educational initiatives. A book launch and signing was held at The Ukrainian Museum in New York in September 2025.
One of the most moving moments at the Centennial Celebration was the unveiling of the Threads of Unity quilt — 101 embroidered squares individually created by UNWLA members, symbolizing connection and sisterhood across generations. Each 8” x 8” square featured Ukrainian embroidery, weaving, or fabric artwork, woven together into a stunning wall hanging. The Threads of Unity Quilt was initiated by Members-at-Large and coordinated by Lisa McDonald, a Member-at-Large from Wyoming, and is now on permanent display in the UNWLA offices at 203 Second Avenue, New York City.
On February 3, 2025, UNWLA, in collaboration with the Kyiv Public School of Administration, the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, and Zemliachky, hosted the conference “Empowering Legacy and Future of Women-Led Organizations in Ukraine and the U.S.” The event celebrated the history, highlighted the current impact, and explored the future of women-led organizations in both countries, bringing together women civic leaders and NGO representatives.
