Lviv has hosted the ninth charity bike ride “Pedalling so they can live”, during which UAH 1 million was raised to support children with cancer. In line with tradition, the city of Lviv has doubled the amount raised, so UAH 2 million will be allocated to meet the needs of young patients at the Clinical Centre of Paediatric Medicine.
The event was organised by the charity foundation “Zaporizhzhia”. This year, 240 participants joined the bike ride – adults and children, families, athletes and concerned residents of Lviv. The event began with a minute of silence for fallen defenders and the performance of the State Anthem of Ukraine.
The Mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, took part in the bike ride. He reminded everyone that the city is doubling the UAH 1 million raised using community funds, so the total amount comes to UAH 2 million, which will be directed towards supporting the children’s hospital. The Mayor thanked participants for taking part and stressed the importance of joint charitable initiatives.
The funds raised will be used to purchase a modern ultrasound diagnostic system for young patients at the Clinical Centre of Paediatric Medicine, including children undergoing bone marrow transplants. The new equipment will help doctors assess a child’s condition more quickly and accurately at every stage of treatment.
Singer Arsen Mirzoyan once again joined the bike ride and ceremonially announced the start of the race. He recalled that the idea for the campaign first emerged when he was just starting out as a fundraiser for the Zaporizhzhia foundation, and later grew into a bike ride as an act of unity and solidarity among the city’s concerned residents.
The founder of the Zaporizhzhia charity foundation, Nataliia Onipko, thanked participants for their support and noted that every year the organisers worry whether they will manage to attract enough people, but residents of Lviv consistently show their concern, and both the number of participants and the total raised keep growing.
Among the participants were both experienced cyclists and whole families with children. Lviv resident Vira came to the bike ride with her husband and six-year-old son; for her family, taking part in the ride has become an annual tradition. She said that her son, who has Down’s syndrome, first got on a bicycle specifically for this event, and next year the family plans to complete the distance without stabiliser wheels. Vira, who works as a paediatrician, stressed that this issue is particularly close to her heart, and that it is important to help children not only through her professional work, but also by taking part in charitable initiatives.
A regular participant in the bike ride is Lviv resident Andriy Shemechko, who this year came with his six-year-old daughter, Anna-Maria. He said that he has been taking part in the event for about five years in a row, as it is an opportunity to spend time actively and at the same time help children, and the funds raised genuinely make a difference.
His friend Pavlo, a teacher at Lviv Children’s and Youth Sports School No. 6, has been joining the bike ride for nine years in a row. This time he came with his daughter, friends and his pupils. According to him, it is important for children from a young age to see an example of charity and to understand that even a small contribution can help someone recover.
Over the years of the bike ride, the Zaporizhzhia foundation, together with its partners, has helped to refurbish departments at the Clinical Centre of Paediatric Medicine in Lviv, purchase essential equipment and improve treatment conditions for children with cancer.
The Zaporizhzhia charity foundation has been operating since 2008, supporting families with children in hospitals, shelters and frontline areas, as well as providing housing and care for seriously ill children in the family-style Dacha homes in Kyiv and Lviv. In the Lviv region, the foundation has been active since 2010, working with the Centre of Paediatric Medicine: it has opened a psychological counselling room, equipped the hospital with modern equipment and carried out reconstruction of the oncohaematology department. Since 2016, the Zaporizhzhia foundation, together with Arsen Mirzoyan, has organised the “Pedalling so they can live” bike ride every year in support of the medical facility’s young patients.