Maria Skibitskaya is a physician, a graduate of the Kuban State Medical University (general medicine specialization). She was born in Krasnodar, in a family of doctors. A patriot of her city. An athlete with a sports rating in synchronized swimming. Works as a physician, providing a qualified medical assistance. Long lines of patients prove this – many people want to get fast and efficient help, which Maria provides.

Maria is actively involved into the social life of her city, giving lectures and writing articles for scientific and popular magazines and participates in cardiological, surgical and therapeutic conferences. Involved into scientific work.

She is also an activist of the Krasnodar Jewish community. Maria is an author of the project The School of Health, where she gives lectures on health and a healthy way of life. She generously shares her knowledge with other people and carries out preventive work. She is full of enthusiasm and creative plans. Her first volunteering action took place in the framework of Metsuda, where she helped elderly people.

Being a graduate of the Metsuda, Maria has created her own volunteering project The School of Health, where she gives various workshops dedicated to a healthy way of life.

Maria considers, that every person must help those, who need help, when she has an opportunity to do that. “Volunteering for me is the joy of others, gratitude, positive emotions. These things lack so often nowadays!”

I do volunteer work from the year 2013. I used to work only on sporting events such as the Universiade, the fire of the Olympics, the WORLD CUP for fencing etc. The volunteering has helped me in finding new friends, to communicate and in the practice of foreign language. Now, working in the community, I’m starting to get interested in the volunteering of its other side : the help to the older people and children. I madly please to be helpful in this mortal world and I try to help, to do good things and to be always in the center of events. 🙂
And the relevance of this issue now is quite high because people will always act to the effect of “Tom Sawyer”: one started, the others I want to do it, too. Here is no exception, when people saw and are interested in such a thing as volunteering, they immediately want to be involved in everything that is connected to this beautiful case as volunteering. Everybody began to help, and to work together for the benefit of the humanity, and so on.
Plus, it must never be forgotten about the fact that people will always compete with those who are similar to them and when someone sees that his friend/rival/teammate turns out to work the volunteer better, more and qualitative, so then this someone begins to pursue higher goals and in volunteering too

In Nikolaev lives a man who planted 20,000 trees throughout the city on his own money!

The 79-year-old pensioner Vadim Andreevich Serdtsev is the former chief engineer of the thermal power station at the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery. He has been planting trees in his native city for 12 years. He does this with his own hands and on his own funds.

It was planted over 14 thousand trees and bushes since 1998.

From the very beginning of his charity activity, Serdtsev writes down he number of planted trees in a journal. He also records the information on watering and the way to take care of trees on care. The last page of his journal contains information about the addresses and phones of the city and district services, which at least somehow can help the public-landscaper.

Our city is famous for its Good Deeds, our city is famous for Good People!

I am a teacher-volunteer with a big work experience. I am not indifferent to everything that occurs in Jewish community and not only there. I managed to start many projects, among which there are Sunday school that became one of the best Sunday schools in Ukraine and the first Jewish kindergarten “Prakhim” at the municipal pre-school institution №81. This project was launched with incredible difficulties and it has been working since 2000. I have worked it up and successfully presented it when I studied at the Jerusalem University according to the Melton program for teachers of the Jewish education.I have also initiated and organized such projects as:

1) Publication of the book-almanac “Shofar” about the history of Jews living in the Cherkassy region (assistance in preparation and publication);

2) Organization of a traveling exhibition “Anne Frank. History Lesson” and holding the city competition of compositions in this subject;

3) Help in perpetuation of the Righteous gentile A. Shulezhko (organization of anniversary actions in the city, edition of the book “Pam’yaty Slavetnoy Zhemlyachky”, participation and help in installation of a memorial board in the city);

4) Publication of methodical works and scenarios of the Jewish holidays (“New Jewish School” Publishing house, St. Petersburg).

5) Writing poems and songs for children, poetic translations from Hebrew and Yiddish for vocal collectives.

The Jewish period of my life began in 1993 when I returned to my hometown from Poltava. In 1994 my volunteer activity in the Jewish community had started. Doing good deeds, having satisfaction from the fact that you help somebody, and a pleasure from self-realization is what unites all volunteers! I still continue my volunteer activity in the community. I am the Head of Literary club in Hesed and every month, even several times a month, hold thematic meetings with the participants of the Jewish revival programs. I have brought up many generations of the Jewish children. Together with the knowledge of the Jewish culture I strive to foster the desire to do good.

Just six months ago, Julia became a mother, but this did not prevent her from being an active volunteer for the Jewish community.  Last year she took part in more than 30 volunteer activities, some of which she had organized herself.  This year, Julia graduated from the “Lehava” program “and her final project was a course of psychological support for the volunteers Hesed Abraham.  The lady is sure that the volunteering is not simply a hand of the help from the strong on the weak, but the ability to live a “full” life.