Page 144 - Book about Friendship and Future.Stories of Volunteers.

Lyudmila Chernenko

HR Training Manager
Tasty Food LLC, Kiev

The Story of My Volunteering

I have always been doing something good: helping senior
people, granting money, feeding homeless animals. But I had
never thought of volunteering.
I have been working in KFC in the Ukraine for more than 5
years, surely taking part in the fundraising activities for the kids
with disabilities or orphans. I think this is great – you offer to the
guests “A Kind House” or “A Fairy Sock” and the money is trans-
ferred directly to the children in need.
One day, the Business Director Alina Kiptyk offered us to par-
ticipate in the project of the KFC Corporate Charity Fund “Open-
ing Horizons”. Our peers from Moscow headed by Anna Orlova
came to share their experience. They brought the games aimed
at developing the 21st century skills for the kids from the SOS vil-
lage, held masterclasses on warm-up activities and communica-
tions with kids.
I was full of doubts: whether I would be able to deal with emo-
tions, how I would behave with the kids who lack the parents’
care, whether I had enough self-confidence to hold the games.
But I have a lot of energy, I love kids and I have always found
a common language with them. So, I decided to become a lead-
er of the volunteer project in the Ukraine. I also engaged the
peers who cared, both regular team-members and Area Coaches
from Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk region. Now we have 2 teams of
volunteers: one in Kiev, the other one in Dnepr, cooperating with
the SOS villages in the town of Brovary and orphanages in Dnepr.
We have been holding excursions for the kids to restaurants and
other enterprises.
Guys, this is awesome to be a volunteer, to share your warmth
and love with the kids and people who have found themselves in
difficult life situations, to make the planet cleaner, to help home-
less animals and feel delight from doing something good.
Do not hesitate – go and deliver good deeds, and the world
will become better. And then you will start to appreciate this life,
meeting every day with a smile and feeling that there is a lot of
kindness around. I have checked that myself!