Russia – Ural Region
Acts of kindness bring joy in Ural
Our retail team from Aspen Russia’s Ural region once again embraced our Mandela Day campaign with immense vigour and energy and supported seven beneficiaries in 2023.
We have engaged with many institutions that focus on the treatment, welfare, and upbringing of children, with the knowledge that the state takes care of children who are subjected to challenging situations. There is, however, never enough budget or volunteers to create positive, healing, and joyful environments for the children, which prompted us to serve in this area again.
We previously partnered with Yekaterinburg Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital (“RCCH”) when we refurbished their playground, but we were overwhelmed by all the work that was required. This situation presented a perfect opportunity for long-term support, and we didn’t hesitate to return and be the hands and feet that are needed to make a difference at this primary beneficiary.
RCCH, which treats some 1 000 children annually, is a large multidisciplinary hospital complex located across an area of 20 hectares. It is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment and provides technologically advanced treatment to young patients and post-parturient women. These patients travel extensive distances from across the Sverdlovsk Region, the Urals Federal District and other constituent entities of the Russian Federation and cannot be visited by their loved ones on a daily basis.
In late June 2023 we set to work cleaning up the grounds at RCCH where we also repaired and painted 46 benches, attended to landscaping tasks, and planted beautiful flowers to brighten up the gardens for the patients.
As has become our custom, we were again joined by our families, children and spouses demonstrating that acts of kindness have extended well beyond Aspen’s boardrooms to those who are dearest to us.
Our appreciation to the team of Aspen volunteers that included Natalia RM Kuznetsova, Olga Itkina, Anastasia Pryamikova, Nadezhda Gorelova, Evgenia Ezhova, Guliya Maksyutova, Evgenia Savina, Svetlana Matveeva, Ekaterina Vozhzhova, Svetlana Kharitoshina and our families.
Several additional actions were carried out by the Ural retail team albeit that some were individual efforts. These acts of kindness are closely aligned to Aspen’s ethos of Healthcare. We Care and demonstrate that any initiative – no matter how large or small, can change a life or make a difference.
The Ufa Correctional Boarding School No. 92 caters for 270 children with disabilities. This facility received donations of stationery and cleaning materials and an area of the school’s gardens was also cleared and neatened up to.
A fun day was hosted at Gbuson SRTSN Harmony Orenburg Social and Rehabilitation Centre for Minors, that accommodates 70 children of all ages. The youngsters enjoyed their gifts of books, colouring materials and didactic material.
Playground equipment, which is clambered on daily by the children at the DDU Kindergarden №52 in Yekaterinburg, was painted much to the delight of the little ones.
The Save Me Animal Shelter in Chelyabinsk, Road Home Animal Shelter in Bely Yar and Perm Municipal Animal Rescue Shelter were supported with their kennels being cleaned, the animals taken for walks and Perm’s river bank cleared of litter.
