In Irkutsk, the volunteer ball Crystal Heart of Siberia was held, where winners of a contest in eight categories were honored, from volunteer actions and corporate volunteering to media publications. Special attention went to eighth grader Vladislav Podrez from Kuitun, who received the Volunteer Act of the Year award after saving a drowning child. Guests also saw the results of the Good Winter contest and a rich cultural program with performances by creative groups.

The participants of the ball were the winners of the competition, which was held in the following categories: “Volunteer Action of the Year,” “Young Volunteer of the Year,” “Corporate Volunteering,” “Educational Program of the Year in the Field of Volunteering,” “Volunteer Environmental Program (Action, Event) of the Year,” “Volunteer Family of the Year,” “Volunteer Deed of the Year,” and “Volunteering in the Media.” In total, more than 184 applications were submitted for the competition.
Special attention from the guests of the “Crystal Heart of Siberia” ball was given to the winner in the “Volunteer Deed of the Year” category, schoolboy from Kuytun Vladislav Podrez. Despite his young age (he is in the 8th grade), Vladislav performed a true feat by rescuing a drowning child from a lake.
As part of the ball, the best participants of the 2nd regional competition of creative works “Kind Winter” were also awarded, within the framework of which students of educational institutions and teachers of the Angara region prepared essays, campaigns, and posters on the topic of tolerant attitudes and helping children with disabilities. In total, 317 applications were submitted to the competition.
In addition to the awards ceremony, the ball participants were treated to an extensive cultural program. Thus, guests of the event were treated to performances by the jazz orchestra of the Irkutsk Regional School of Arts, the youth song and dance ensemble “Ulaalzai,” dance groups of NI IrSTU and BSUEP, the dance studio “Konopushki,” and others.
According to Anastasia Egorova, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly and chair of the board of the Irkutsk regional charitable public organization for children and youth, the Center for Support and Development of Volunteering – “Do Good,” holding such a large-scale event as the Volunteer Ball in Irkutsk would have been impossible without the support of Viktor Tolokonsky, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Siberian Federal District.
Based on materials from the press service of the Department for Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region