CBC News | May 2024
After helping around 20,000 Ukrainian newcomers get on their feet with clothing, household goods, diapers, and toiletries, the Free Store for Ukrainian Newcomers evolved into something even bigger — a full community hub. Opening May 4, 2024, the space now offers painting, dancing, cooking, counselling, and information sessions to help newcomers truly build a life in Edmonton, not just survive the first weeks of it.
The idea to make this transformation came directly from the community itself. Newcomers told co-founders Jorgia Moore and Janice Krissa they didn’t want to close — they needed it to keep going. And it’s easy to see why. People who once walked in as shoppers kept coming back as volunteers, then as managers. Lilia Vovk, who first visited the store in 2022, returned as a volunteer in January 2024 and became a manager just four months later: “When I come here, we all are together. We feel safer and like family here.”
See the full story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-free-story-for-ukrainian-newcomers-community-hub-1.7196838
Global News | March 2026 DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen went to Global News to sound the alarm about what weekend life looks like on Jasper Avenue
Taproot Edmonton | March 24, 2026 DON’YA Ukraine’s Kitchen is setting its sights on helping revive Edmonton’s downtown. At the grand reopening of Little DON’YA
