My Jewish history began with my great-grandmother, who was a Polish Jewess. When they moved to live in Ukraine, all documents indicated that they were Ukrainians. However, they did not forget about their traditions and kept them, which was passed on to my family. My husband has Jewish roots and is an Israeli citizen. For him, the traditions and culture of his people are very important, and he introduces our family to Jewish holidays and traditions. I am originally from Ukraine, but due to the war in my home country, I had to move to Chisinau with my two sons Roman (16 years old) and Maxim (11 years old). At first it was very difficult - a new city, everything is new. But I managed, and for almost a year now we have been living in Chisinau. Looking back, I remember how difficult, difficult and dangerous our departure was, since my city of Kherson was at that time, and there were battles. Immediately upon arrival in Moldova, I began to look for the Jewish community, as it was important for me to learn more about Jewishness, which would help me continue to live in Israel, because it is not in vain that they say that all Jews return to their native lands in Israel. Attending a Hebrew course was my first step in introducing and getting to know KEDEM. I began to learn about the projects and activities that exist there. Our whole family became actively involved in the life of the community, trying to attend all the events. My children are involved in many projects according to their age - Roman is actively involved in Haverim projects, and Maxim attends meetings within Haverim Junior, and they are delighted. I can say that the RVC Volunteer Center gave us life back! I am an RVC volunteer because I love people and I love helping! I learned about the volunteer center back in the summer, at the ANAVIM festival, and began to get acquainted with projects, choosing activities that were interesting for me. Now I'm part of a volunteer center. Since I don't currently have a full-time job, I have started to devote more time to RVC projects. As a professional psychologist, I chose to volunteer with the elderly and demented people because I understand how to work with them. In addition, I help to organize women's groups within the framework of the project "About self-love", so that every woman can feel confident and love herself. I want to express my gratitude to KEDEM and the Republican Volunteer Center for the opportunity not only to help people and make them happy, but also to develop myself and learn new things.

My name is Konstantin Fridman, I am an active volunteer in Minsk Jewish organizations. I can't say that I had a specific reason why I started volunteering, but most likely it was hereditary - my parents were also active members of the community. Since childhood, I was taught to treat people as I would like to be treated, and this became the basis of my life and work. I am a very sociable and outgoing person, and therefore volunteering for me is a pleasure. Although not everyone may enjoy volunteering as a main activity, I am sure that the emotions and gratitude that I receive from the people I help are the best rewards for my efforts. I advise everyone to try to participate in any of the volunteer programs, as my grandmother, parents and now myself recommended it to me. Who knows, maybe you will find your calling in this and become active volunteers like me!

My volunteering journey began in September 2018 when I joined the community. To be honest, back then, I had no idea what volunteering was all about. I was introduced to it by Julia Volstein. I consider her my spiritual mentor because she was the one who showed what volunteers do and how to interact with different categories of people we provide help to. With Julia's help, the volunteer creative group "Rikuddim" was created, which is active to this day.

We established it quite quickly. Initially, we participated in various events, provided assistance to the community, and performed in charity concerts. The most important thing is my "volunteers," as I like to call them. They are my team, which, over the five years of our existence, has helped others many times without remaining indifferent to the problems of others. When we started, there were only six of us, but as we continued, more community members became interested in our activities. Today, the volunteer creative group consists of 15 members, as well as children of community members. I love helping others, seeing their smiles, especially when it comes to children or elderly people who just need some companionship. I love to see the little happiness in their eyes after the events, which then fills you from within, making you a completely different person.

I believe that what we gain from volunteering goes beyond material possessions. Participation in events helps us develop our qualities: responsibility, conflict resolution, communication skills, overcoming shyness, and more. Volunteering is an excellent way to make new friends.

As they say, "a person needs a person." In reality, offering assistance is not that difficult. I think many people have, at some point, selflessly helped others without expecting any reward. Charity is a very important part of our world. A person gives a piece of their warmth, their time, their emotions but gains much more in return.

My name is Vladimir Neznaiko, I am a student of the Anton Chekhov POTL and I am an active participant in the volunteer movement at the Republican Volunteer Center (RVC). My story began when I accidentally found out about RVC through my friends. I was looking for ways to get involved in charitable causes and help those in need when I came across information about RVC volunteering. This was a great opportunity for me to do a good deed and contribute to public life. More than six months have passed since then, and I continue to actively participate in various RVC events. I helped with logistics at various mass events, participated in the organization of Good Deeds Day 2023, collected food for the people in need, organized and hosted classes for children and much more. Why RVC? In this volunteer center, a huge number of projects are focused on helping members of the Jewish community, and here I can get closer to the culture of the Jewish people. My great-grandparents were Jewish, but like most stories from that time, their papers have been weathered, blown away by the winds of time, and eventually lost. By helping out on RVC projects, I can be closer to my historical roots. I like the volunteer movement for its diversity, emotional involvement, and depth. Here I meet many different people, work in a team with like-minded people, learn about different cultures and social problems. It makes my life more meaningful and more interesting. What I especially appreciate in the volunteer movement is that here I can contribute to solving social problems and help people in difficult life situations. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and pride in my contribution to the common good. I am sure that the volunteer movement is useful not only for society, but also for the volunteers themselves. It helps to develop and expand horizons, set new goals and achieve them. I believe that each person can contribute to the common cause and become better, and volunteering is one of the most effective ways to do this.

My name is Emiliya Chernyavskaya, I'm 32 years old. I came from Russia. In the early part of 2022, my family repatriated to Israel, but I couldn't go with them and immigrated to Moldova. Currently, I live in Chisinau and am glad to have ended up in this city, which allowed me to get acquainted with RVC.

I'm quite new to the volunteer center, having joined after a volunteer vacancy fair, and I immediately started my activities. For me, RVC is an opportunity to find a new circle of friends and look at life from a different perspective, to prove through my own actions that there is goodness in life.

I try to get acquainted with all the projects and participate as much as possible in various activities, but most of my time as a volunteer is directed towards the Call Center, communicating with the elderly over the phone. Currently, I call elderly people living in Israel who need communication and support. Along with other volunteers, I gather information about those who need help and talk to those who lack communication. I am glad that I can provide some support to these people even from a distance.

Recently, I was able to join the "Volunteer School" seminar, which allowed me to get to know participants from other RVC projects and gain useful knowledge that will help me in my volunteer activities.

Why did I choose RVC? Because I knew it was associated with KEDEM, and that means there is a part of Jewish life there. My family lives in Israel, and for me, it's an opportunity to learn about the culture and traditions of the Jewish people. And since the current activity of the Call Center is focused on calling the elderly in Israel, it brings me even closer to my loved ones, allowing me to support everyone there.

I have been volunteering for 5 years now. I have always felt the need to help people, so as soon as I got to the Southern Volunteer Center, I immediately joined the volunteer activities. These were a variety of events and people, all kinds of actions aimed at helping and supporting. I do not take back anything and I can proudly say that I became the best volunteer in Krasnodar in 2019. It is important for me to be part of a strong team of caring people. If we look around, we can see many situations where perhaps the help of a volunteer is needed. Sometimes, just by helping a person to brighten up his loneliness, we save a life, and sometimes by extending a helping hand, you can help make the right choice. Now my life cannot be imagined without volunteer help, since the responsibility for my ward Bella Leontievna has appeared - an absolutely lonely woman who was saved during the pandemic. Now she has become a part of me. Taking care of her, I understand that I saved at least one human life. I also often have to collect humanitarian aid and take care of refugees. I do it with great pleasure, realizing that anyone can find themselves in such a situation! I am sure that the world will be saved not by beauty, but by kindness!

Having the MD degree in Medicine, she is a radiologist, Fruma Zalimanovna was born in 1929. Despite her not young age, she is full of energy and enthusiasm, which are so necessary in volunteering. Our heroine started her social work in 1946. Fruma Zalimanovna is the Assistant of the Chairman of the Medical Council of the University and a part-time mentor for the student volunteer movement «Milky Way». To the Volunteer Center of the synagogue she was invited in July 2013 as a consultant for the Organization of the Jewish Museum, then she became a principal consultant. Fruma Zalimanovna says that she is engaged in volunteering solely by ”The Call of the Soul”. She is totally sure that it is especially important today, because our society has lost its moral values. Fruma Zalimanovna also manages to write the books in history and in medicine.

Кuleshova Еugenia Iacovlevna. 28 years old. Advertisement Expert. How did she get to the volunteer center? In 2011 I have finished the leading seminar «Metsuda», the goal of which it was to create my own volunteer project. And since then, the volunteer activities have become an integral part of my life. Now, I can’t imagine my Sunday without Volunteer Center, without my project concerning the work with the teenagers. And even my 10 year old son is involved in a large number of promo events together with me. So, the opening of the Volunteer Center meant for me the only one thing -I’ll soon have a huge number of like-minded people who want to change this world for the better.

Why to be a volunteer? Because this is now the only possible (real and available to everyone) the way to change something around yourself. To make the world better, purer and kinder. Don’t sit and complain but to change, create, improve, and develop. Why is it actual today? For many reasons, actually. Of course because I have already said that only with your own power, desire and love you can change something. Since I mostly work with the teenagers, so, I can name several more specific reasons for them. This is a great way to find real friends. Not those who will be together with you only in social networks, but those who will be tested not only by a word but also by his deeds. This year, it was much talked about that we remember the veterans only on 9 May. So, our guys can proudly say that it isn’t so! I know that our teenagers visit the veterans not only on holidays, but also during the weekdays. It’s nice to be a part of something big and good, and the Volunteer Center is best suited for this.

I am a volunteer, I like to write prose, act on stage or put on small plays.

My volunteer career started with a Shabbat at home of an elderly single woman, who has hearing problems. I also worked with children with disabilities.

I do volunteering because I like to make people happier, make them smile, give them attention and let them understand their importance. I also like to feel that people need me while helping them.

At the moment I am working on creating a project for BBYO and I have already two ready-made projects.

Victoria Tonkonog is a new and particularly valuable volunteer in the city of Bishkek with her own unique story. At the age of three, she developed a severe disability due to a musculoskeletal system disorder and practically does not leave her home, receiving all the necessary assistance from Hesed.

During the pandemic, Victoria actively communicated with Hesed volunteers, participating in the "Food security," "Let's Connect," and "Holiday in Every Home" programs. Volunteers taught her how to use the internet, take virtual courses on drawing, and save her poetic works (Victoria writes poetry) in electronic format.

In one of the conversations with Hesed staff, Victoria expressed a desire to become a volunteer, fearing that her physical condition might be a hindrance. However, we found a special volunteer role for her—Victoria has been congratulating elderly wards on their birthdays for several months now. She does it creatively, incorporating her artistic approach, and both sides derive pleasure from this experience.

Victoria notes that volunteering gives her a sense of purpose, instills a feeling of involvement in a common cause, the joy of interacting with many people she didn't know before. Hesed's wards always express joy at the attention they receive on their birthdays from Victoria.

My name is Natalya, in ordinary life I am a director and actress of the Academic Theater of Russian Drama in Tashkent. When I work in the programs of the Jewish Revival project, I feel like a magician, a creator. For more than 4 years I have been participating in the "Birthday Day" project, where I sing for grandparents. I am incredibly pleased to see their faces decorated with charming smiles! In the summer of 2017, I began staging a play based on the story by I. Bashevis-Singer "Three Wishes" with the participation of children and adolescents. In this performance, I again was able to show all my creative abilities. I think we did really well! In November 2017, I staged the Hanukkah performance "How Hershele Hanukkah Saved from Demons" with the participation of teenagers from the "Jewish Revival" project. Since September 2019, I have been participating in the volunteer project "Holiday Light in Every Home" and I am happy to perform both in Tashkent and Samarkand. Such volunteer work gives me real pleasure, because I can do what I like, give good spontaneously and from the bottom of my heart!

Eremina Margarita, I am 26 years old. I study in college of art and culture on theatrical creativity, and I also participate in the youth Jewish theater. I have got to the volunteer center because I attended the youth Jewish club, and I have learned about such remarkable programs. Why am I engaged in the volunteering? Why is it actual today? To bear to people good things is the same as the most valuable gift; people became more mercantile nowadays, and now even the smile on their faces is a rarity, to see a smile on their face is a great happiness for me and pride there are the same adherents with me as I am. The time which is spent for the volunteer actions, I consider the most wonderful and the most remarkable because at this time we give the happiness to people.