In Irkutsk at the Artistic Cultural Center the third Social Services Fair was held, where 12 volunteer organizations and 17 social institutions and public associations found each other and agreed to cooperate. In two hours the participants signed 6 agreements, and volunteers presented their projects and discussed who especially needs help, from disability organizations to centers for children left without parental care. The event showed that the city has more joint initiatives and real actions that help coordinate volunteer work.

Finding one another, helping one another — that is the purpose of the meeting that took place today in Irkutsk at the KDC “Khudozhestvenny.”
“Our event is called the Social Services Fair,” says organizer and director of the MBU “GOROD” Lydia Kosheleva. “It is held so that the city’s volunteers can meet those who need their help today. These are organizations for people with disabilities and centers that help children left without parental care.” Twelve volunteer organizations from the city of Irkutsk and 17 social institutions and public organizations took part in the Fair, which was held on April 13. Each organization prepared an exhibition stand and presented its projects.
The volunteer movement of students and teachers of the Irkutsk Aviation College (IAT), “Road of Kindness,” appeared in 2009. “Year by year the number of volunteers grows, and more and more young people want to join our ranks,” says Fair participant and IAT teacher Olga Bondarenko. “We provide targeted assistance to elderly people. For example, our students clean the house where an elderly woman with disabilities lives. The students organize walks for a wheelchair user who lives on the 5th floor — the volunteers carry the grandmother and her wheelchair downstairs in their arms for a walk. We also take part in large citywide projects.”
Over the two hours of the Fair, the participants concluded 6 cooperation agreements. For example, members of the volunteer movement “Road of Kindness” responded to a request for help from the organization for people with disabilities “PRIBAIKALYE.” The Youth Initiatives Center “Voluntary Choice!” will help the charitable foundation of the Irkutsk Region “Obereg.”
“This year there are more participants than last year. And that means that joint projects have emerged, and joint work has taken shape,” noted organizer and head of the Public Relations Department of the Irkutsk administration Olga Kurilenkova.
The Fair was held in Irkutsk for the third time; its holding made it possible to present as fully as possible the organizations that need volunteers’ services and to help volunteer organizations coordinate their activities and identify the most in-demand areas of work.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk administration.