In April 2016, the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, as part of the “Family and Children” program, announced the start of the Second All-Russian competition of foster family diaries “Our Stories”.

One of the Foundation’s four large-scale programs is aimed at systematically solving the problem of social orphanhood in the Russian Federation. The organizers invite teenagers 14-18 years old and young people under 25 years old who have experience living in a foster family to take part in the Second Competition.

Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko- one of the largest family foundations in Russia. The Timchenko family has been involved in charity work in Russia and abroad for more than 25 years. In 2010, with the goal of achieving long-term results of family philanthropy, the Timchenko Foundation was created. The Foundation's activities are aimed at supporting active longevity, developing non-professional children's sports, solving the problem of social orphanhood, developing Russian regions through culture, and international humanitarian cooperation. These strategic directions are aimed at systematically solving social problems in Russia, and also contribute to strengthening international relations.

We are changing society's attitude towards the older generation, striving to improve the quality of life of older people in Russia. We ensure the well-being of children left without parental care. We develop sports, making it accessible to everyone, regardless of age, physical characteristics and place of residence. We promote the cultural development of Russian regions and the preservation of Russian cultural and historical heritage. We are strengthening cultural and sports “bridges” between Russia and other countries as the basis for building good neighborly relations.

The Foundation helps people who are changing their lives and the world around them for the better, and works for the present and future of the country. In December 2015, the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation turned five years old. Official website of the Foundation

A solemn event dedicated to summing up the results of the All-Russian competition of foster family diaries “Our Stories” was held in Moscow. The most talented nominees of the country's most touching competition were awarded at the State Historical Museum - a place that preserves the memory of previous generations.

When announcing the start of the competition in June, the organizers did not expect how many families would become participants. It was truly difficult for the jury members to choose the best from 432 works, but in the end the winners were named and, together with their families, were invited to Moscow. Two days full of interesting excursions, educational games and master classes for children will forever be remembered by the competition laureates for their warm, spiritual atmosphere. The culmination was the awards ceremony at the State Historical Museum, where, after fascinating stories about unique exhibits that “remembered” great events from the history of our country, families were able to receive long-awaited awards and words of support and gratitude.

For one day the museum was filled with happy smiles of boys, girls and their parents. It seemed that everything on this snowy day radiated love and prosperity. The children, together with their parents, received a tremendous amount of support, which will help them cope with all difficulties and tasks in the future. And foster mothers and fathers were able to meet and exchange their experiences with families from other regions of Russia, so that, upon returning home, they could convey this positive attitude to other families.

“Some people talk about foster families with admiration, some with bewilderment, some with distrust. Meanwhile, parents make difficult decisions and rejoice at even the tiny victories of their children. Together they solve small and big problems, change and move forward. The difference is that these parents were not there when their children were born, but met and fell in love with them a little later. Each of these meetings has its own story, touching and confusing. Despite the fact that in our society it is not yet customary to talk about personal things, foster families - participants in the “Our Stories” competition - openly shared their feelings, emotions, experiences, successes and difficulties. This will help other people learn about the life of foster families and “try on foster parenting for themselves,” and foster parents will realize that they are not alone in their problems, and that any difficulty can be overcome. There are no losers in this competition! All diaries are unique, impressive and deserve to win! Many thanks to all participants, as well as experts and partners who supported the first All-Russian competition of foster family diaries “Our Stories”,” comments the head of the “Family and Children” program of the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation, Candidate of Sociological Sciences Elvira Garifulina.

But the All-Russian competition of foster family diaries “Our Stories” did not end with the award ceremony. The winners of the Grand Prix and the People's Choice nomination will go with their whole family from July 10 to 17, 2016 to a summer camp for foster families on the Black Sea (Krasnodar Territory). Besides this, Irina Larionova from Novosibirsk, Grand Prix winner, received the opportunity to undergo an internship for foster parents in Finland in 2016.

The winner of the “People's Choice” nomination, the Kuzmin family from the Chuvash Republic, sang a beautiful song in the Chuvash language in folk costumes at the award ceremony. Foster mom Ekaterina Kuzmina shared her impressions: “Today is our foster family’s 15th anniversary. Winning the competition was a pleasant and unexpected gift for us, but we already thought it was a wonderful and very useful idea. Every day we printed out other people's stories and read them as a family. It’s good that children also read stories from other adoptive parents!”

The winners in four main categories received useful gifts from the Timchenko Foundation and competition partners. The first places were taken by:

In the “Become a Family” category - Maria Rodyushkina(Moscow region), raising three natural and one adopted child. She told how the decision was made to raise a child, and what difficulties her family had to face during the adaptation period.

In the “Shoulder to Shoulder” category - Tatyana Ievleva(Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug), whose family has 2 natural and 7 adopted children. Her diary, entitled “Equal Among Equals,” talks about the problems of a large family and the help that allowed them to be resolved.

In the category “Minority Opinion” - Natalya Nadezhdina(Republic of Chuvashia), which took in one foster child with three children and set out a non-standard approach to children with special needs.

In the nomination “One of Your Own” - Olga Lazareva(Voronezh region), who has 3 natural children and 9 adopted children, described how a prosperous family reveals the talents and capabilities of “abandoned” children with special needs.

In addition, the jury members decided to further encourage authors-fathers, authors-children and families with children with special needs by establishing special nominations.

Received the special nomination “Sunshine” for the work “Special Children” Natalia Klimenko(Krasnodar region);

The special nomination “Daddy’s Diary” for the frank story “The Wrong Stork” received Daniil Novikov(Pskov region);

The information partners of the Competition also chose their winners.

Special nomination “My Train of Hope” from GRK “Radio Russia” was awarded Larisa Trenkina(Moscow) for the diary “Our path to happiness, or dreams sometimes come true”;

Special category “Love at first sight” from the magazine “Liza. My child" was awarded Lyudmila Krasnova(Samara region) for the work “Man is born for happiness”;

Special nomination “School of Adoptive Parents” from the magazine “Adoptive Family” was awarded Svetlana Krivosheeva(Khabarovsk region).

By announcing the First All-Russian competition of foster family diaries “Our Stories,” the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation set out to increase confidence in the institution of foster parenting so that every child could live and be raised in a family. In the future, based on the competition entries, it is planned to publish a book that will be distributed among existing and potential adoptive families. The organizers hope that next year the “Our Stories” competition will unite even more participants who will share their experience with all of Russia. Perhaps this will lead to the fact that myths about foster families will be debunked, and many children will find real strong families.

The competition is held by the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Charitable Foundation. More than two hundred foster care students wrote their life stories. About the trials they had to go through while they were orphans and how they live now with new parents, brothers and sisters. Most of these candid diaries will form the basis of an encyclopedia of parent-child relationships that the charity plans to publish. The competition entries were evaluated by journalists, writers, and psychologists. The winners were young authors from ten Russian regions. Svetlana Stavskaya from the Krasnodar Territory knows how to cook in a camp kitchen better than anyone in her class. She wins skiing competitions and even climbed mountains. She constantly smiles and calls herself happy. It’s hard to believe that this polite and smart girl used to be a fighter, took other people’s things without asking, and went hungry in her own family - with a drinking mother. She suffered beatings. Until her adoptive parents took her.

“She chose us herself. And only because my husband came to the hospital to meet her, and he didn’t have a belt,” says the girl’s adoptive mother Minzagira Stavskaya.

Svetlana wrote in her diary about her life before and inside her foster family, which she now calls her real and only one. More than two hundred children from all over the country sent such revelations to the All-Russian competition “Our Stories”. You will not find such nominations anywhere - “For the ability not to lose heart, to love, to fight for oneself.” Violetta Efremova, like many authors of similar stories, was left an orphan with living relatives and was abandoned. In the foster family where she lives now, she hid food in the closet and under the pillow for a long time. I was afraid that they would take me away, like in a shelter. Now, he says, he is not afraid of anything at all - after all, his mother and brother, also adopted, are nearby. The award ceremony was held in the children's city of masters. Not by chance. In foster families, parents try to develop all the talents of their children. So many, long before graduating from school, already know what profession they want to master. And those who were undecided were able to learn something new here.

At the master classes, the winners of the competition mastered the secrets of craftsmanship as a builder and a baker, an artist and a doctor, a postman and a banker. Angelina Korneeva from Volgograd is studying in a cadet class and wants to continue the military dynasty. I decided to work for the Ministry of Emergency Situations and save people. There are seventeen children in her foster family. Therefore, they know firsthand about help and mutual assistance.

Children also sent video works - films about their families. They will continue filming with new cameras - a gift from the competition organizers. The main prize is a trip to the Black Sea, to a camp where foster families from all over the country vacation. Based on children's diaries, it was decided to publish an encyclopedia that will help children and parents, not only adopted ones, better understand each other.

The purpose of the competition is to improve the attitude of Russian society towards the institution of foster families; overcome stereotypes towards families who take in children with disabilities.The “Our Stories” competition is one of the ways to express the need for foster families in Russia. It shows that only a family can give a child love, warmth and support, ensure harmonious development, socialization and a successful start into adulthood.

Diaries and stories from your life can be sent to the “Our Stories” competition until September 27, 2017. According to established tradition, the experts will be famous public figures, writers, journalists, and adoptive parents. From June 20 to October 16, 2017, a popular vote will be held - anyone will be able to vote for competition stories that will be posted on the website www. nashiistorii. org. The Timchenko Foundation will announce the results of the “Our Stories” Competition - 2017 on November 7, 2017, and at the end of the month the winners in the main categories, the Grand Prix winners and the winners in the “People's Vote” category will meet at the award ceremony.

The organizers hope that special attention to special children and foster families will help to better understand their real needs and tell them that a diagnosis should not be a death sentence for orphans. A loving family can give a child a chance to grow up as a developed and independent person. Participants in the “Our Stories” 2017 Competition will be able to tell about this in their diaries.

Official website of the competition:

Charitable Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko - one of the largest family foundations in Russia. The Timchenko family has been involved in charity work in Russia and abroad for more than 25 years. In 2010, the Timchenko Foundation was created with the goal of achieving long-term results for family philanthropy. The Foundation's activities are aimed at supporting active longevity, developing non-professional children's sports, solving the problem of social orphanhood, developing Russian regions through culture, and international humanitarian cooperation. These strategic directions are aimed at systematically solving social problems in Russia, and also contribute to strengthening international relations.

We m We improve society’s attitude towards the older generation, striving to improve the quality of life of older people in Russia. We ensure the well-being of children left without parental care. We develop sports, making it accessible to everyone, regardless of age, physical characteristics, place of residence and financial wealth of the family. We promote the cultural development of Russian regions and the preservation of Russian cultural and historical heritage. We are strengthening cultural and sports “bridges” between Russia and other countries as the basis for building good neighborly relations.

The Foundation helps people who are changing their lives and the world around them for the better, and works for the present and future of the country.Official website of the Foundation:www.