My name is Denis. I am 19 years old. I am the coordinator of the Birthday project.

Everyone who is a volunteer, probably, asks himself what is volunteering for him/her? Volunteering for me is one of the opportunities to help people selflessly. Such situations show our humanity and sense of community. I understand that helping others, I also help myself.

Volunteering is a two-way process of sharing good deeds.

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 Alina. I am 21 years old. I am studying to be an economist. I’ve got acquainted with the Jewish community, starting with the Taglite. After this unforgettable trip, I started going to the youth club and there I learned about the volunteer center. I’ve been a volunteer in several directions for several years.

I feel the greatest pleasure from my volunteer activities with children. It is an amazing feeling when the little eyes of children start to shine, when you appear.

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.

Savonichev Alexander, 29 years old. I am a builder. I have got to volunteer center quite recently, just 3-4 months ago (I was brought by one good friend of mine) and I have already managed to participate in a huge number of different actions: departures outside of the town, the work of madrikh with the children, both cleaning of cemeteries, and a campaign of the visits to the veterans, and the participation in big city campaigns. But the Moked Lokashish project, with which we help elderly people to do small repair works, is the closest to me. As for me, it is actual to be the volunteer today because every time, I feel as I bring benefit to the society and indirectly I do many people a little happier.

Anna Grigorievna Rysina was born on September 6, 1926 – a volunteer. She is one of the first volunteers of the "Jewish Community Charitable Center 'Hesed Tikva'," dedicating 28 years of her life to the Bryansk Jewish charitable center "Hesed Tikva."

"...When I came to 'Hesed Tikva' 28 years ago, I wasn't yet 70. It was 1996. I was told that a Hesed was opening, and I said, 'Of course, I’ll go.' Everything here was so interesting! We visited the sick, those who were unwell. Back then, we didn’t know where the Jews lived. One person would mention someone, and another would say something about someone else. That’s how we searched for Jews. Some were afraid: 'Why does anyone need to know I’m Jewish?' At that time, the Hesed was still under renovation. My first job was to wash the light fixtures. I immediately became a trainer, leading a group in physical education. In the morning, I worked with retirees, and in the evening, I worked with those who were employed (and for almost ten more years, I ran in the park during the summer, although at 80 I became a little lazy). About a month later, Irina Iosifovna Chernyak, the director of the Hesed, suggested I take care of the library."

"...Before, I worked at a steel plant in Bezhitsa (a district of Bryansk), as a casting engineer. And at our factory, there was a good library. We read books, exchanged impressions, and always had a book club gathering. We discussed different books. I was there in the library for more than fifty years. So, when I came to the girls at the Hesed, I said, 'Teach me to be a librarian.' They showed me how to track books, how to organize them, how to maintain the borrowing logs. Well, I am, of course, obedient. Since we started dealing with the library..."

Thanks to Anna Grigorievna, the library was replenished with many new books, including historical women's novels and works about Jewish dynasties. Now, at 98 years old, Anna Grigorievna continues to actively participate in the life of the center, receiving care and support in return. Despite having suffered a leg injury, she still visits the Hesed several times a month. In her volunteer group, there are 10 people working in the library: issuing books, tracking incoming literature, improving the catalog, etc. She still participates in many events at "Hesed Tikva" and actively leads educational activities.

"Hesed is my family. Irina Iosifovna has created a great thing. What should a person do in life? My technology, my drawings, and technical conditions have remained. They work according to them at the factory. But here is the library. Irina Iosifovna created something that cannot be conveyed, how many people she saves with it."

"Once, I fell at home and broke my hip. I couldn’t get up. I fell, and I called Masha, who comes to me every day as part of the Hesed program. I said, 'I fell, I can’t get up.' She didn’t have a key. I crawled out of the room. I remember how they show in movies that soldiers crawl when their legs are injured. That's how I crawled to the door. Since I’m small, the lock is low, I stretched, opened the door, and passed out. Masha arrived with her husband. They lifted me, put me on the bed, and called an ambulance. If it weren’t for Hesed, I wouldn’t have survived. They immediately bought me a special anti-decubitus mattress, diapers, and wipes, and they also made a handrail for me in the bathroom."

Anna Grigorievna emphasizes the importance of reading and knowledge, especially noting that books are a "great thing." She advises young people to dedicate time to reading, expanding their horizons, and finding inspiration in literature. Anna Grigorievna treats everyone with respect, regardless of their nationality or background. True intelligence, she believes, lies in seeing a person as an individual first.

Despite her age, she continued to actively participate in community life, engaging in physical activity and library work. Her example shows that even in retirement, one can remain a useful member of society and bring value to those around.

Anna Grigorievna's advice: "Read, respect the people around you, be active and useful to society, and remember that kindness returns."