Usually, the military come to us for help, but this weekend, something different happened: the soldiers from the 3rd Separate Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army invited us to visit them.

It felt like a special day, a day when we realized that volunteers are remembered and cared for with love and concern. Our friendship has been ongoing since February 24th, and day by day, we feel this strong bond between "volunteers and soldiers," where we are ready to go to great lengths for them, and they bravely defend Ukraine.

On their page, the soldiers wrote:

"The honorary award of our battalion is of great significance to each of us. For the first time in the history of our battalion, we awarded honorary distinctions to our volunteers and benefactors - 'Charity Fund TAPS,' Julia Dmitrova, Victoria Rudyeva.

From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, you have been steadfastly standing shoulder to shoulder with us. We highly value you and thank you very much for everything you have done for us and continue to do for the third year in a row. Thank you for your work, support, and reliable rear! Because no unit can succeed without a reliable rear. Thank you for being with us! Together we will definitely win!"

We were awarded, received a little training to be able to navigate in case of danger, and at the end, we were treated in a cozy circle of like-minded people.

Words cannot express the mood we returned home with - joy and confidence that volunteering is more than just collecting donations.