Last time I told you about my involvement with the local charities in Washington, DC and now – in New York City, I’ve always believed in doing the good. I just never really talk about it. Neither do my friends unless they really need help to raise funds. Only then, when my friends start talking about the issues of homeless kids, poverty, diseases, natural disasters, I realize how many of the people who surround me are involved in some sort of a charity organization. Moreover, some of them are the founders of the charity organizations and foundations.
This is why when I was approached to help with the upcoming The 47th Annual Petroushka Ball that will take place on Friday February 10th at the historic Waldorf Astoria Grand Ballroom in New York City, I couldn’t say no. This event is not only a charity event but its mission is very close to my heart – being that it supports the Russian children in Russia, where I was born. It’s the primary fundraising event for the Russian Children’s Welfare Society (RCWS), founded in 1926. For more than 85 years RCWS’s efforts have been directed to improving the lives of disadvantaged children in Russia by supporting orphanages, homeless shelters, hospitals, rehabilitation centers for disabled children and schools.
And if you ever lived long enough in Russia, it’s most likely that you’ve been at least once exposed to those disadvantaged children. I, personally, have seen it all – I’ve been to orphanages. I’ve worked with the disabled and I’ve seen very ill children. So, the fact that I could help those Russian kids while living in USA, is an extraordinary opportunity for me and my Russian friends and acquaintances – expats - abroad. There are more than 730,000 orphans living in Russia alone!
What began as a small tea dance designed to raise money for disadvantaged Russian children, has grown into New York's foremost Russian-American event, attended by the city’s business, artistic, and diplomatic spheres. Past Petroushka Balls have featured leading soloists of the Metropolitan Opera, the American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Theater, and other eminent companies. This time it is close to hosting 700 guests. The Ball will feature a stunning array of performances from a number of critically acclaimed and internationally recognized artists – all of whom are great believers in doing something right for the country that served them as home once upon a time.
The entertainment part of the evening will feature performances from Metropolitan Opera stars: Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano and Ildar Abdrazakov, bass-baritone, the music of the Lester Lanin Orchestra, under the baton of Spencer Bruno, as well as the Russian folk music by the Barynya Balalaika Orchestra. Well known Russian-American models and athletes are always expected to attend.
All net proceeds from the 47th Petroushka Ball will be directed towards RCWS’ charitable programs. Among them are educational scholarships for orphans, medical treatment for children with severe facial deformities, assistance to orphanages, rehabilitation programs for children with special needs, a “Yelka” party in Moscow for disadvantaged children and other vital programs. For more information, please go here.
Seeing my friends in USA working very hard to help the children from their homeland – Russia, makes me very proud for being their friends, as much as I have respect for the people I don’t know and who devote – if not their whole lives – but at least some time in their lives to various charities. Just recently one of my friends came back from Russia, where she went to visit the local orphanage to bring the money she raised at one of her last year’s charity events. Her name is Zhannet Platonova and she is the founder and director of Kapitoshka Inc. - a charitable organization, founded in 2011 and established to assist disadvantaged children in the United States and globally. Platonova travels abroad to provide necessary social and financial help to children in foreign countries who are suffering from loss of families, epidemics, natural disasters, or any other tragic events (you can contact her here: kapitoshkainc@gmail.com).
The very first assignment that Kapitoshka embarked on was to raise money for the orphans in the hometown of Platonova - Essentuki, Russia. With the help of her friends in USA, Platonova organizes events among friends, family and acquaintances to raise funds and then physically bring supplies, toys, electronics, and clothes for the children, who now regard her as their ‘goose mom’ as she’s become a regular at that Essentuki orphanage. And she is not alone. I’ve met quite a few good young men and women in USA who do charities, such as Becky’s Fund founded by Becky Lee, who is committed to fighting domestic abuse and Tigerlily Foundation founded by a breast cancer survivor Maimah Karmo, who is committed to educating young women around the world about breast cancer; and empowering them to be their own best advocates.
Just like the Russian-American Platonova, I see other young and aspiring Russian-Americans and of other cultures trying to build charity communities around their very-close-to-heart causes that go back to their native countries. And just as one might think that a young woman has been doing a rather daring hard job supporting an orphanage in the country broken by bureaucracy, crime and corruption, she decides to take on another challenge – Platonova is about to a project to support a school for the death children in Malhachkala, capital city of Dagestan Republic.
We see it happen more and more in USA nowadays, when regular people and celebrities help other countries, other cultures to live better and/or fight life-threatening issues and events. It’s one of the things – being able and having the means to help the other countries - that makes USA a great country, no doubt. And that makes these girls - great ladies who make both first and second home countries proud!
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