In Irkutsk, the Volunteer Ball Crystal Heart of Baikal will be held for the third time, with 352 applications already submitted, and 150 participants will be selected. This year the contest covers eight categories from Volunteer Act of the Year to Volunteering in the Media and gathers a wide range of initiatives, from helping children to environmental and corporate projects. Organizers note that interest in the event grows every year, and last year it reached the level of the Siberian Federal District.
in which 150 people selected based on the results of the competition will take part. At present, 352 applications have been submitted for the competitive selection. The event is organized by the Ministry of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region, the Irkutsk regional charitable public organization for children and youth, the Center for Support and Development of Volunteerism – “Do Good,” with the support of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region.“The Volunteer Ball ‘Crystal Heart of Baikal’ will be held in Irkutsk for the third time. Last year the event reached the level of the Siberian Federal District, and volunteers from the Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tyumen, and Omsk regions, as well as the Altai and Zabaykalsky territories, took part,” said Irina Bakanova, head of the youth policy department of the Ministry of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region. “Every year, the number of applications to participate in the Volunteer Ball only grows.”
According to her, in order to take part in the Volunteer Ball, it is necessary to submit an application by March 20, 2013, which should contain information about the candidate nominated to participate in the competition and the programs, events, and campaigns implemented from January 2012 to January 2013. Organizations of all organizational and legal forms are invited to participate in the competitive selection (including non-governmental non-profit organizations, educational and social institutions, commercial organizations, religious organizations of traditional confessions, media outlets), as well as individuals and initiative groups.
The competition is held in eight categories: “Volunteer Act of the Year,” “Young Volunteer of the Year,” “Volunteer Family of the Year,” “Volunteer Campaign of the Year,” “Corporate Volunteering,” “Educational Program of the Year in the Field of Volunteering,” “Volunteer Environmental Program (Campaign, Event),” “Volunteering in the Mass Media.”
Applications are submitted for a wide variety of campaigns and events. For example, as Valentina Kuptsova, a participant in last year’s Volunteer Ball from Usolye-Sibirskoye, said, this year they plan to submit an application for the implementation of the campaign “Winter Tale of Magic” to hold New Year’s celebrations in an orphanage as part of the project “Give Children a Holiday.” “The main focus of our volunteer activity is helping people in difficult life situations. The priority area is helping the children at the orphanage in Usolye-Sibirskoye. The campaigns are carried out by students of the IrGTU branch in Usolye-Sibirskoye,” Valentina Kuptsova noted.
According to her, last year in the category “Volunteer Campaign of the Year,” the project “Scarlet Help” won, which took place as part of the youth festival “Youth of Pribaikalye.” Young people donated blood, and with the money raised they bought diapers and pacifiers for the City Children’s Hospital for children whose parents had abandoned them.