Hello, my name is Maria Barmina.

My desire to develop myself and interact more with people led me to volunteering, and the first step was participating in the "Bring a Smile" project, where I was invited by a friend. That's when I got acquainted with the Republican Volunteer Center and realized that it was the place where I could express myself and learn something new. The first experience turned out to be successful, so I decided to continue my volunteer activities.

In six months of volunteering, I have had the opportunity to participate in various projects. Within the "Call Center" project, we called elderly clients, communicated with them, and found out what assistance they needed. I also worked with children in a kindergarten and continued active participation in the "Bring a Smile" project. Each project requires deep immersion and encourages the discovery of new talents.

In addition to participating in projects, I attended a seminar for volunteers at the Volunteer School Hub, where we were taught how to launch and implement new projects. I am grateful to the center for giving me the opportunity to discover new facets of my personality by participating in various volunteer initiatives. For me, RVC has become a home where I am awaited by close friends and like-minded people. Together, we are capable of a lot, capable of changing people's lives for the better, and we do it every day! Now I can proudly say "I am a volunteer" and invite everyone to become part of our friendly team!

Lokshina Tatyana Evgenyevna, 38 years old, a translator Having arrived from Israel in September, 2014, I have got my friendly family in Hesed «Tikva» where I am always helped and on any question answered «to rise on my legs» in the city in which a lot of things weren’t familiar for me. Precisely, I decided to offer my help in those small affairs, feasible to me, and which are the usual work of the volunteer center. Today, I lead the direction – «Family volunteering». The sense of this direction of the volunteer activity is in the following: the lonely client of a Hesed is consolidated to a family, and we several times a month visit him and whenever possible we help the family. The work of the center is always actual. It is very important to have any support and in difficult life situations to get this support.

My name is Ekaterina Banetskaya, I am a student of the Grodno State University. I am a psychiatrist student and have always loved working with people. My main hobbies are photography, music, movies and books. Thanks to a fortunate combination of circumstances and new acquaintances, I ended up in Hesed. I enjoy working with people of the "golden age", because I am studying in another city, far away from my family, and the warmth I get from these people for helping them makes my life warmer and easier. My favorite project is "J-delivery". As part of a project, I do light errands or go to the store and make a difference for the elderly and feel better about it. I would like to wish all volunteers patience, perseverance and diligence, but do not overwork, so as not to burn out emotionally. I wish you all love, health and sunny days over your head.

24 years old

Reception document service assistant.

Hobbies: I write poems, prose and I enjoy being photographed.

My volunteer career began when I was at school in 11th grade. My friend and I signed up for an action against extremism and drug trafficking. We walked around ​​the district and made photos of “advertisements” of drugs, smoking mixtures, and various inscriptions such as swastikas, which offend different nationalities. We sent all the information to a police officer.

Later, I was a volunteer in the search and rescue team «Liza Alert» and searched for missing people. I placed announcements about the search, notified the public about the results, and I was also the organizer of the «Memorial Day of the Perished Children» supported by «Lisa Alert».

I wanted to be a volunteer from a Jewish organization, and I learned about the existence of Hesed Ester and the fact that everyone could participate in cleaning the Jewish cemetery. This is very important for me as a Jew, as a member of the community, and it gives me great pleasure to do this activity. There is such a nice and useful action as cleaning the cemetery — thank you so much for it!

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.

From the very beginning of his volunteer work, Stanislav Lenivkin involved his sons. He wanted to show them how easy it is to do good deeds. Their first step was delivering gifts to Hesed clients in their neighborhood. People always welcomed them warmly, and while the boys were initially shy, they soon became more confident. Often, they were invited for tea, and they couldn't refuse, as attention is the most important thing.

Later, the family participated in the "Zikaron" campaigns—cleaning Jewish cemeteries. They visited Malakhovka, Zapadnaya Dvina, Perlovka, and Tula. These events were always interesting, as they were part educational tours. The boys enjoy working with tools and understand the importance of preserving Jewish memory. This year, their younger sisters joined them in delivering matzah.

Vadim Igorevich Isaev, 41 years old, doctor. Hobby — fishing.

Vadim Igorevich joined the community in June 2016. His first action was shoveling the snow and ice near the community. He also actively participated at the community events, congratulating the elderly members of the community. Vadim Igorevich took part in charitable volunteer actions at the infant home. At the moment, he is organizing and participating in the «Jewish Ural» project.

Vadim takes part in the volunteer movement, following his heart.

His motto: “Do good on Earth, do good for the benefit of others!”

Hello! My name is Yaroslava, I am 16 years old and I study in the 10th form of the Theoretical Lyceum "Alexander Pushkin". I enjoy playing the piano, playing sports and writing articles, as I dream of becoming a journalist. A year ago I became interested in volunteering, the war that started in a neighboring country played a big role in this. From February to July 2022, my mother and I actively helped refugees. We prepared a large amount of food and delivered it to those in need. Then I became interested in whether we have volunteer organizations in Moldova and remembered the RVC, which my friend told me about. First, I got into the "School of Volunteers", where I learned from the coordinators what the Republican Volunteer Center is. I liked it right away. I realized that here I can develop myself, learn and gain new skills, communicate and help people, which is what I always wanted. I have been at the RVC for a year now, during which time I managed to try myself in various projects. Most of all I like "Call Center", as well as projects related to children. One of the projects that I lead is "Talking English", where I teach children English in an interactive way. During my activity there were many interesting cases, but most of all I remember the case from the "Clean Chisinau" project. Then we were cleaning the "Eight" park and collected about 15 bags of garbage. We had a real quest to get garbage out of the lake. We understood that it would not be possible to clean everything. Then a man who had nothing to do with volunteering came to help us. He literally climbed into the lake and helped us pull out a large number of bottles and other debris. After the action, we were glad that we managed to clean up the park a little and make it more pleasant. Being engaged in volunteer activities, I feel useful, I feel that people need my help and I believe that volunteering is my calling!

My name is Ella Efimovna Novomlinova. I was born in 1948. I am a former kindergarten teacher (music director). I am retired at the moment. I became a volunteer in 2010, when I came to Hasdei Yerushalaim. I have a group of ward people, whom I regularly ring up, make messages, congratulate on birthday and holidays. I am regularly on duty at the Hesed office, and when it is possible I respond to the requests of people and help them. Since music is my hobby, I help V.O Lanzman to conduct “Musical living room”. My daughter and grandson also take part in the life of Hesed, and I am very happy about it. I am grateful to the whole team of our community.

Adults involved in volunteering is a regular work. But it's much rarer to see children and teenagers helping others. And that's a shame. From my own experience, I can say that when a children participate in good deeds, they bring even more joy and warmth into the homes they visit.

I have been a volunteer in the Maagal Volunteer Community of the Joint Distribution Committee for nearly four years now. 

I have a volunteer partner - my eleven-year-old daughter, Diana. She took the initiative to join the project on her own. Diana knew what I was doing and always asked how it went, what was interesting. At some point, she suggested joining me. Now, every time I have a task, she asks, "Are you going? Can I come with you?" And almost every time, she’s part of the action. The freedom to choose is important. Diana is not just my partner, she’s also my comforter.

I often have a lot of emotions. For example, one time we went to make crafts with children with Down syndrome. Diana was so enthusiastically interacting with them. When we left, she said, "Mom, thank you for this meeting. These kids are just like us. If they ever need help, I’ll be there for them." That moved me to tears.

My daughter understands my sensitivity and always comforts me. We return home feeling inspired, knowing that we’ve lived at least one day to its fullest. We see doing good as a necessity. Diana never asks why or what for—we simply enjoy it. And people always greet us with enthusiasm.

My name is Elizabeth Garbelik. I am 16 years old, and I am a 10th-grade student at Gymnasium No. 3. In my free time, I engage in various creative activities such as music, painting, knitting, and more. But a special place in my heart is reserved for the Jewish community of Bobruisk, where I attend the AJT youth club and engage in volunteering. My journey began two years ago when I participated in the "Your Neighborhood" project. That's where it all started. I really enjoyed spending my free time helping other people and teaching them something new. After that, I volunteered in the Food Security and TechFriend projects, which were also very interesting experiences. It was a great pleasure for me to assist people in understanding their cell phones so that they could talk to their loved ones and friends over long distances. I was worried that I might say something wrong or lack the experience, but all those concerns turned out to be unfounded, and everything went very well. I wish every person to experience the feeling of joy when helping another person and making them happy!