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.

Hi all! My name is Victoria, I am 28 years old. For more than 8 years I have been a volunteer in the Republican Volunteer Center. There was a time when I came here from time to time, but in 2019 I returned to volunteering in full force by participating in the Good Deeds Day. I believe that such large-scale events are a very convenient and suitable opportunity for those who want to try their hand at volunteering. I do volunteer work in my free time from my full-time job and other hobbies. I love creativity and I coordinate 2 wonderful projects: "IT Grandmother", where my friends, colleagues, and I teach older people computer skills, and "Our hands can do everything" - art workshops where everyone can try new techniques or remember what he once knew. Master classes are held online for both volunteers and elderly clients of Hesed. For me, volunteering is not only mutual assistance, but also an opportunity for self-development and communication. Everyone can share their knowledge and skills, even if they are not an expert or a master. Every contribution is important, no matter how small it is. I believe that such an atmosphere reigns in the Republican Volunteer Center, and this is one of the reasons why we all love this organization so much. The second reason is the connection with Jewish traditions, culture and community. This is exactly the place that allows me to be closer to my roots! Grow and help make this world a better place!

My name is Alyona, I'm in the 12th grade at the "Petru Movilă" lyceum. I have always been interested in volunteering, because I wanted to help people, and I had always possessed the most important resources for this: time and desire. I started looking into volunteer centers and came across the Republican Volunteer Center (RVC). By the end of the summer, I filled out a registration form and was invited for an interview. This is how my volunteer journey began. At the moment I am participating in a project for children "How does it work?". In the classroom, I talk in a manner that is interesting for children about the work of the human body. I also work with older people in the "IT POP" project, which aims to teach mobile literacy to Hesed's wards. What I like about RVC is that absolutely everyone can find an outlet of expression for themselves here, as there are many projects for different age groups and interests. Volunteers are also not forgotten, for whom many educational seminars, training and master classes are held. I also want to note the coordinators who are always ready to help and make you feel at home as much as possible. I really enjoy being a volunteer and I'm glad to be a part of RVC!

Hello everyone, my name is Sergey Melnichenko, I am 19 years old and I am studying at the University of Economics. Before I found out about the RVC, I visited the Haverim youth platform, where on one of the Sabbaths I was offered to join the volunteer center. After some time, I decided to join the ranks of volunteers. I have always believed that I can help the world, although not on a global scale, but still somehow make it better little by little. I joined the RVC team about six months ago and managed to participate in a variety of activities. At the moment, I mainly work in the ITKIDS project, where I teach computer literacy and IT skills to children, but in the future I am ready to try myself in other areas. Also, sometimes I participate in the delivery of food packages for the elderly and in environmental campaigns. What I like about volunteering is that everything is done from the heart. I do what I love and as a results I bring joy to others as well as myself. It is like a reward to see smiles on their faces. Nothing compares to the true happiness of a person. I believe that kindness can save this world. I hope that I will be able to do what I truly love for a long time. Volunteering teaches a lot. For example, once at the ITKIDS project, I was supposed to be replaced for a day, but the volunteers could not come. In such a situation, I had to quickly react and find a way to fix the situation and fortunately everything went smoothly. This experience taught me to always have a back up plan.

Hi! My name is Arina, I am 17 years old and studying in the 11th grade. I am a volunteer of the Republican Volunteer Center (RVC) in Chisinau. I found out about the RVC by the end of 2019 from a friend, but I couldn’t join because of the pandemic. After, I was indecisive, but then, I made a decision to join the RVC team in June 2022. Looking back at my first interview, I can't help but smile at how afraid I was. During the time of my engagement in the voluntary craft, I managed to take part in many projects of the Russian Exhibition Center, which are aimed both at improving our city and at socializing the elderly and helping children. I managed to participate in the projects “Clean Chisinau”, “Give me a paw”, “Chisinau Citizens of the 20th Century”, host English classes for children in the Jewish kindergarten, and also be a volunteer at the Europe Junior Cup Chisinau 2022 in August. In September, I was lucky to become a member of the VC Festival for 4 cities of our republic. Now, I am helping to coordinate the "Ready for School" project, which allows preschool children to learn the basic knowledge in mathematics and spelling. At the moment, I am also involved in the work of the call center, where I call weekly and inform people about our projects and events. This is not a complete list of what I do at the volunteer center. On the one hand, the RVC is a place where you do volunteer work and get tired of giving yourself away. But on the other hand, this is a place that inspires and fills with new knowledge. For example, here I learned about my Jewish heritage. Quite unexpectedly for me and my family, we found out that my great-grandmother was Jewish. Here I was helped to reconnect with my heritage and feel like a part of a friendly Jewish community. Joining RVC was probably the best decision of my life. Here I met a lot of new people, a couple of whom became my close friends and support. It was here that I learned a lot about Jewish culture, how to communicate with different people, how to work in a team and help others. The Republican Volunteer Center is not just a couple of offices in JCC KEDEM, it is a family and a second home!