Page 66 - Book about Friendship and Future.Stories of Volunteers.

Tatyana Fedorova

Director of Operations, a K Restaurants Russia LLC
Moscow

Those who join volunteering are people with open heart and
soul, willing to help. In “A K Russia” we support volunteer projects
in various areas: donorship, aid for orphans and animal shelters.
Among the latest one is the refusing from plastic in the office.
We are happy that all these projects have been initiated by the
employees – they infect each other with the idea of volunteering
and this is awesome! Nothing unites people so close than a kind
deed delivered together.
For me, as well as for many others, it is important to experi-
ence my usefulness. Being a megapolis citizen, a leader with lots
of tasks, it is hard for me to find time to implement this need, but
I have found an appropriate solution. For a few years I have been
a volunteering driver for the “Sheredar” fund. I help with trans-
portation, for instance, meeting families with kids, taking them to
the treatment site or bringing the required stuff for a kids’ event.
I remember my first trip best of all. When I was meeting the
kid in the airport, I suddenly understood that I had not addressed
the issue with all seriousness, I was not prepared. I came there
but I had no child car sit. All my thoughts were about what to
do, when a kid around 5 or 6 approached me together with his
mum and totally embarrassed me by asking, “May I walk around
here a little more?” The airport looked so exciting to him, he was
so much enchanted with what he saw. I had to improvise hold-
ing a mini excursion around Sheremetyevo departure hall. Then
I realized that despite the fact that the kids were ill and came to
get a special treatment, they still kept all the curiosity, questions
and emotions so characteristic to children. And being a volun-
teer, I have got a task to make their small trip vivid, to satisfy their
interest and make them forget about their diseases at least for
some time.
I wish our volunteers would have strong spirit because facing
the others’ misfortune one might burn out and leave the volun-
teer’s path. One needs to have a strong mind and a strong desire
to help.