International Women’s Day in Chicago: Supporting Balkan Children Through Community

On Sunday, March 8th, I had the pleasure of attending the Women Who Rise – International Women’s Day brunch at Ambar Chicago, where I represented the Charity for Balkan Children.

The event brought together inspiring Balkan women entrepreneurs, creators, and community leaders who are building businesses and strengthening the Balkan community here in Chicago. It was a beautiful celebration of women, culture, and connection.

A Celebration of Balkan Women and Community

The brunch highlighted several incredible women-led initiatives and businesses. It was wonderful to meet and connect with:

• Draga Culic, Founder of Blacklisted Brandy

• Maja Aleksic, Founder of Tari Cosmetics

• Ivana Milano, Brand Ambassador at Ambar

• Marija Pejkovic, Owner of Balkan Bakery

• Saveta Dubak, founder of the Charity for Balkan Children.

Each of these women is contributing in her own way to promoting Balkan culture, entrepreneurship, and creativity.

I was honored to represent Charity for Balkan Children, where I had the opportunity to share more about our humanitarian work, "The Balkan Voyage" Children's Book and the projects we are currently supporting in the Balkans.

Feeling the Strength of Our Community

Events like this always remind me how strong and supportive our Balkan diaspora community truly is.

Even though many of us live far away from the Balkans, the connection to our roots, our culture, and our people remains incredibly strong. Seeing so many people come together, support each other, and show interest in humanitarian projects meant a lot to me.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who came to speak with me, showed interest in our work, and offered their support. Your encouragement and belief in what we are doing gives us the motivation to continue helping children in the Balkans.

Our Current Project: Supporting Children in Berane, Montenegro

At the moment, Charity for Balkan Children is still fundraising for an important project in Berane, Montenegro. Read more about it here: https://www.balkanchildren.com/post/help-us-renew-the-radmila-nedi

Our goal is to raise funds for new furniture for the Radmila Nedić kindergarten, helping create a better and more comfortable learning environment for the children.

Projects like this may seem small, but they make a real difference in the daily lives of young children.

We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported this initiative so far — but we still need additional funds to complete the project.

How You Can Support

If you would like to support this project and help children in Berane, you can learn more about the project here:

👉 Visit our project page:

https://www.balkanchildren.com/post/help-us-renew-the-radmila-nedić-kindergarten

Every donation, share, and conversation helps bring us closer to finishing this project.

Thank You for the Support

Once again, thank you to the organizers of Women Who Rise at Ambar Chicago, and to all the amazing women who participated in the event.

It was inspiring to see how many women in our community are turning their ideas into reality — and how much we can achieve when we support each other.

I left the event feeling grateful, inspired, and even more motivated to continue the work of Charity for Balkan Children.

Together, we can make a difference.