The report was prepared by Nadezhda Maksimenko, head of the program on the development of volunteerism of the Krasnoyarsk Centre for Community Partnerships (KCCP), member of the Russian National coordination committee of the Spring Week of Kindness / International Youth Service Day.

First of all, we thank every participant of the Spring Week of Kindness who has provided the KCCP with information about their activities.

Community schools from 21 Russian regions participated in the activities of the Spring Week of Kindness and the International Youth Service Day in 2006. According to the information available to the KCCP, 130550 volunteers from different age groups participated, among them 14506 elderly people, 29008 adults, and 87036 young people. During the week community schools organized and conducted 15480 activities aimed at the resolution of social, youth, ecological, health and educational problems. This year priority being Learn Yourself – Teach the Others, various educational meetings, lessons, and seminars were conducted involving 2050 people.

1. These are a few examples of the activities of the Spring Week of Kindness – 2006.

Liceum No. 1, Ussolye-Sibirskoe, Irkutsk Oblast

Among the most successful activities that were conducted there were strolls on the charity excursion tram with children from the local orphanage and concerts performed at the homes for disabled people.

Secondary School No. 4, Ishim, Tyumen Oblast

The Fair of Volunteer Vacancies (56 volunteers were involved in activities to solve socially important problems, 14 vacancies were filled).

The Benefactor’s Day (participation of mass media, 8 sponsors received thank you letters, 2 new sponsors were found).

Secondary School No. 187, Novosibirsk

Traditionally, during the Spring Week of Kindness the social project “Kind Actions” was carried out. The project consisted of various charity activities:

• "Win over the Illness!" - collecting table games for the children’s service of the Novosibirsk Oblast Clinical Hospital; making an arts and photo exhibition to make the corridors of the hospital cozy and beautiful.
• "Children to Children!" - collecting summer and sports clothes and shoes for children at the correction school of Village Verkh-Igmen; collecting books and magazines for the library of the school.
• "Our Favorite Zoo!" - raising funds for the patronage over injured and sick animals of the zoo, collecting food for birds and squirrels.
• "No to Loneliness!" - conducting concerts, giving presents to the Regional Charity House;
• "Viva Museum!" - raising funds to organize expositions at the school museum.

Gimnasium, Abakan, the Respublic of Khakasia

Presentation of the film "Reaching the Sun" about work with talented children in the gymnasium at a parents’ meeting. An excursion around the gymnasium for future first-graders, visiting classrooms, the gym, the school canteen, library, getting to know their future desks.

 Liceum No. 1, Cheboksary, the Chuvas Republic

"The Parade of Cultures" - a performance made by 6^th grade students with scenarios from Greek and Roman myths; the museum of one picture – students of the 6^th to 9^th grades prepared performances about pictures of famous artists, while students of 1-4 and 8-11 grades act as visitors of the “picture gallery”.

Schools of Yalutorovsk

"My Town of Yalutorovsk" - parents tell about their professions, about favorite places in the town. The aim of the activity: to educate patriotic and citizenly feelings, love for their home place. A concert program at a house for elderly people.

The conducting of the Fair of Volunteer Vacancies during the Spring Week of Kindness has become a good tradition. 167 vacancies were published, 115 volunteers were involved.

2. Educating activities that were conducting by community schools during the Spring Week of Kindness – 2006.

The Republic of Khakasia

Parents, teachers and students conducted seminars on the following topics: «Taking Care of Your House Plants”, “Painting Of Easter Eggs”, “Making Paper Toys”, “Learning to Play Table Games”, “Taking Care of Your Hair”, “How to Write an Article” and others.

Ivanovsky district, Ivanovo Oblast

In Chernorechensk secondary school technology teacher M.N. Martirosyan conducted the master-class “Neckband Embroidery”; G.Yu. Lazareva, an employee of the local administration, conducted the master-class “Macrame and Patchwork”; A.A. Utkina, a pensioner, conducted a master-class “Thermal Lace and Knitting”.

Cheboksary, School No. 56

A make up master-class was conducted for girls of 7-8^th grades on how to use cosmetics and put make up skillfully.

Cheboksary, Liceum No. 1

The Fair of Talents “Learn Yourself – Teach Your Friend”. The game with stations was conducted by students of the 7-8^th grades and teachers of technology, drawing and music. There were several stations: singing, knitting, making statues of salty dough. All in all 45 students (3-7^th grades) participated in the fair.

Liceum No. 1, Ussolye-Sibirskoe, Irkutsk Oblast

There were conducted 2 master-classes. In the master-class conducted for students was named “the school of project development” and aimed to teach the participants to develop their own social projects. 18 students and 3 teachers participated in the master-class. Training on interactive teaching techniques was conducted for educators at the local orphanage. 12 educators participated in the training.

Gimnasium No. 1 named after A.A. Inozemtsev, Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast

Following the priority of the Spring Week of Kindness “Learn Yourself – Teach the Others”, a chess competition was conducted and included educational activities on non-traditional games with chess figures. 40 people participated in the match. Also, the Workshop of Kind Gifts opened its doors for students. The children learned to make toys with their own hands and gave their gifts to friends and relatives. 30 people participated in the activities of the Workshop.

Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kemerovo Oblast

During the Spring Week of Kindness educational activities were conducted to promote volunteerism, to bring up socially responsible attitudes, and to attract new volunteers. Lessons of Kindness were conducted, as well as the following trainings: “How to Lift your Aggression”, “Conflicts”, “We Choose Life”.  The school “agitation brigade” Green Light conducted a seminar for students on how to prevent road traffic accidents. Students and coordinators of Schools 1, 2, 42, and 73 conducted seminars for local residents and primary school children on how to make a school newspaper, how to speak in public, on shaping, and beadwork. In cooperation with the city scientific and methodical centre and the press-center of School No. 42 a problem seminar was conducted for editors of school newspapers and leaders of school press-center on issues of social journalism. In all educational institution of the city the General Lesson of Kindness (“an hour of communication”) was conducted for students of 1-11^th grades, their parents and teachers.

3. The Spring Week of Kindness – 2006 was covered by mass media and enjoyed support by representatives of the authorities and business, as well as by famous people in various regions. Many thanks to all of them for their support!

4. During the Spring week of Kindness and on the International Youth Service Day the community schools achieved the following results:

• United schools, authorities, business and general public in joint activities;
• Encouraged benefactors;
• Found new partners;
• Attracted mass media to cover the work of volunteers;
• Pointed out the importance of volunteerism in the modern society;
• Provided targeted aid to those in need;
• Involved general public in volunteer actions;
• Created and maintained a general information and communication field between the participants of the Spring Week of Kindness;
• Attracted addition material resources;
• Cleaned and made more comfortable the territories of the city, districts, house yards, school yards, and house staircases…
• Created an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual support;
• Disseminated questionnaires about the results of the Spring Week of Kindness in the form of the “Tree of Kind Actions”;
• Conducted Fairs of volunteer vacancies, celebrated and awarded the best volunteers and benefactors, etc;
• Influenced local, regional and national youth politics;
• Contributed to the recognition of volunteerism at the local, regional and national levels;
• Contributed to the better understanding of volunteerism among youth, adults and elderly people;
• Included the practice of socially important activities in the educational process at school;
• Raised awareness of people about the positive input made by the youth in the development of the society;
• Contributed to the dissemination of positive experience;
• Created new inter-sector partnerships between NGOs, authorities, and business;
• Influenced the development of activism of all participants of the educational process.

Participating in the activities of the Spring Week of Kindness – 2006 the youth at community schools as able to achieve the following:

• To develop communication, leadership and creative skills;
• To learn about the following professions: journalist, miner, teacher, bank and post employees, and shovel operator;
• To learn to work with various materials (clay, paper, paint, etc.);
• To carry out a number of socially important projects.