As demonstrators collected discarded signs and picked up trash in Boston Common following a rally for Ukraine Feb. 23, a handful of activists, academics and community leaders gathered on Parkman Bandstand. Among them, exchanging words of gratitude in Ukrainian with her compatriots and passing around homemade deruny (a traditional Ukrainian potato pancake), was Ivanka Roberts, president of the nonprofit Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England, or UCCN. UCCN took the lead in organizing the Feb. 23 rally — as well as nearly every other Ukraine-related rally in Boston since its founding.

In early 2022, Roberts and a group of Ukrainian-Americans passionate about their culture founded UCCN to foster community among fellow Ukrainians and share Ukrainian traditions and history with Americans. Their first event was Feb. 20, 2022, a rally honoring the Day of Remembrance of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, the protestors who gave their lives during the 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. Four days after the February event, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

Roberts is originally from Lviv, the cultural capital of Ukraine, and while she has lived in the United States for over a decade, she maintains a strong connection to her homeland. Roberts said this connection was a motivating factor for her to get involved in activism in the U.S.

“For me, [activism] was coming back to my roots,” Roberts said. “When you first come here, you learn how to live in the new country. You cover your four pillars of work, housing, family and friends, but eventually you’re in need of your own circle, and this is usually culture, traditions and something that relates to you and your people. That’s how I was lucky enough to be surrounded by many people who care deeply about Ukraine, and we united and made this organization, UCCN.”

While UCCN’s current work is largely centered on spreading awareness about the war and supporting the war effort, Roberts said its original goal of sharing and celebrating Ukrainian culture is still at its core.

“[UCCN] was co-founded before the full-scale invasion with the goal of uniting community around Ukraine and to have everybody around us fall in love with Ukraine and see what we can show the world and offer to the world. That is why we are a cultural center specifically,” Roberts said.

Leading up to and directly after Russia’s 2022 invasion, coalitions of different Ukrainian community and advocacy groups led by UCCN came together to gain visibility through demonstrations and events. 

“We have so many different [Ukrainian] organizations within New England that are all very active and our dear friends. Now, we just unite our efforts to go forward,” Roberts said. “Planning goes very simply. We have one email chain going off to all of the leaders of different organizations.”

As the leading organization by and for Ukrainians in the Boston area, UCCN often attracts volunteers who lead various other groups and projects. 

Kyiv native Daria Bogatova is a doctoral student in biology at Boston University and volunteer organizer with UCCN, as well as president of the nonprofit Mriya. Mriya sends medical supplies and other humanitarian resources to Ukraine in cooperation with military units. Bogatova said UCCN helped her gain support when she founded Mryia.

“We started during the full-scale invasion and it was me, my husband and my friend,” Bogatova said.“We realized that we cannot do much as individuals, so we needed to found the whole nonprofit here in Boston. People [in Boston] just started coming up so people just came together and there was the Ukraine Culture Center of New England for support.”

Bogatova said that in the shadow of larger nonprofits like Nova Ukraine and Razom, which work on different scales and in different forms, organizations like Mriya and UCCN must be recognized for the niche that they serve and their local impact. For UCCN, the focus is sharing cultural heritage and organizing events in and around the city.

“Every single person matters, and every single nonprofit matters,” Bogatova said. “There are larger nonprofits, much larger than we are, but we have our own niche of sending medical aid … [UCCN is] more cultural and they work on more events. Every individual effort matters.”

Some of these cultural events include upcoming pysanka, or Ukrainian painted easter egg, workshops on Fridays throughout March and lectures about Ukrainian art and history on Sundays throughout the spring. UCCN also publishes a bilingual English-Ukrainian magazine, UA Chronicles, available for purchase on its website.

Along with events and publications, UCCN volunteers regularly attend rallies in support of Ukraine. For many Ukrainians, like UCCN volunteer Nodira Uhlanova, originally from the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, this activist community has been a source of comfort and strength. Uhlanova, who is also a member of the American Coalition for Ukraine, said attending events held by UCCN helps her feel connected to Ukraine while living abroad.

“I try to be everywhere when it’s Ukraine, when [UCCN] needs support,” Uhlanova said. “This is because I want to be part of these people who help Ukraine make [a better] future. I hope one day, we can all go back to Ukraine and we can celebrate a lot for a long time.”

Uhlanova said she is grateful for the opportunity to stand with her community at UCCN and raise the message that Ukraine will not stand down.

“I’m so glad to be here [with UCCN] and support my country and show we stand with Ukraine and we will stand in the future. We will never give up,” Uhlanova said.

After officially entering the fourth year since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Roberts said she hopes UCCN demonstrates Ukrainian resilience and strength to the world through its events.

“This is the third year of full-scale invasion, 11 years of war, and especially with everything that’s happening right now, we need to be visible. We need to be very loud, very united to remind the world that they have the voice and the say, and freedom is important,” Roberts said. “For me, it is very important that people understand that helping Ukraine is not just about a country. It’s about so much more. It’s about the values that we share, especially here in the United States, that it is also a country of the brave and the free.”