Lola Karimova Tillyaeva and her husband, businessman Timur Tillyaev, have a record of philanthropic commitments spanning almost two decades. This experience enabled them to spring into action as the COVID pandemic began to threaten the US health system. Though originally from Uzbekistan, their home is now in LA so it was there that they directed their efforts. As Johnese Spisso, MPA, President of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System, explained: “We were facing a shortage of face shields for our front-line healthcare workers, and thanks to the kindness and generosity of the Tillyaev Family, UCLA was able to secure enough shields to equip our entire patient-facing workforce.”

This initiative delivered dramatic improvements to the workplace safety of health workers there. In a sign that the couple intend for their involvement to be ongoing, Timur Tillyaev is currently on the board of the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. As he explains, “I believe that by giving children the best opportunities we are investing in a better world.”

When Timur Tillyaev and Lola Tillyaeva speak this way, it comes from personal experience. Back in 2002 in their homeland of Uzbekistan, they observed the dire conditions some of the countries’ underprivileged children faced and decided to act. They created the You Are Not Alone foundation based on their belief that every child deserved a fair chance at life – regardless of their circumstances. As Lola Tillyaeva puts it, they wanted to “ensure that vulnerable children grow up in a caring and loving environment”.

The early phase of the foundation’s work focused on improving the standard of care at existing orphanages and care homes. Seeing the success of these programs, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev became more ambitious. Nowadays, You Are Not Alone has the expertise to design, construct and fit-out purpose built facilities.

In this way, Lola Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev do everything they can to give these vulnerable kids the opportunity for an independent future.

Beyond this, You Are Not Alone also has initiatives in the spheres of education and health. As the couple explain: “Education is at the heart of everything the You Are Not Alone foundation does”. You Are Not Alone also operates numerous schemes to provide medical care to those in need. Perhaps the most celebrated is the partnership they have with the French NGO, Association La Chaîne de l’Espoir (Chain of Hope). This enables them to assist Uzbek children with chronic cardiac conditions. As Timur has said elsewhere, “for the past two decades my wife and I have been involved in various charity projects in Uzbekistan and internationally to support the vulnerable and to support initiatives that help people”. Fortunately for the people of LA, Lola Karimova -Tillyaeva and Timur Tillyaev’s desire to give back remains as stronger than ever.