Spotlight on Emerald Group’s Charity Foundation: Izumrud Fund.
Giving back has always been a big part of Emerald Group’s DNA. We believe that excellence and success is nothing without contributing our best to the world while evoking others to do the same.
Five years after founding Emerald Group of Companies, in 2005, our CEO, Roksoliana Melnyk was invited by some friends to visit an orphanage in the Tver’ Region to meet the children and to see the work they do as volunteers. Her first visit inspired her to launch our very own charity foundation, Izumrud Fund.
Thanks to our valuable clientele and some fantastic partners, we managed to gather numerous funds and lead many initiatives to help the children of Tver’ to have a chance at a better life.
Izumrud Fund’s mission is to create conditions and provide opportunities for children and teenagers who are in need of support for:
Being set on a course towards a successful life
Releasing their potential
Achieving self-worth
Developing their character
Providing them with opportunities through: Authorities – Private Benevolence – Business
Develop partnerships to address social problems through charitable projects and programs
The Fund’s activities are centred around:
Family Restoration
Transit Home Establishment
Recreational Centres
Mini-Farms
Annual Children’s Camps
Celebrations and Events for Orphanages during festive periods
Since 2005, Izumrud Fund organized numerous Christmas, New Year and Easter celebrations for orphanages to bring a sparkle of joy to the children with impressive celebrations and entertainment by celebrity singers and actors, numerous presents and a big festive meal on each occasion.
A few years later, in 2008 the Fund began organizing annual children’s camps in various regions in Russia. These camps would accommodate between 28-40 children each time who for the first time in their lives would get to experience flying in a plane or taking a large coach bus, staying in a hotel, bathing in the sea or lake and participating in educational programs, physical activities as well as fun socializing events. The aim of the camps was to open the children’s horizons, help them make friends and help develop them through educative methods with a focus on building self esteem and belief that they can and should dream and set big goals for their lives.
Adding to the existing initiatives, Izumrud Fund further enhanced its range of activities in 2011 with a focused program to reunite families. Over the years of working with orphanages, the Fund’s Team recognized a pattern. Many children end up in orphanages not because of their parents abandoning them, but because of the poverty of the family forcing parents to give their children to orphanages in order for the children to be getting at least some basic food and shelter which the parents couldn’t provide.
Izumrud Fund started investigating such cases and providing financial support and guidance to families on a case by case basis in order to facilitate the families to reunite, having better living conditions and a second chance at building the family together.
Due to certain restructuring Izumrud Fund was forced to cease its activities since 2018. Our CEO still keeps in touch with the main orphanages that the fund worked with and provides support from personal resources.
Despite the challenging year of 2020, we still uphold the original vision for the Fund and have set a target to resume the Fund’s activities in the coming year. This time we have even more ambitious plans on the work we would like to do for the children in these orphanages and to expand beyond just the region of Tver’.
As we approach Christmas Holidays, we want to take a moment to recognize the blessings we have – from enjoying a warm and cosy home, to filling up our tables with festive meals and having the luxury of spending this time with our closest family and friends.
However, we always remember that not everybody is as lucky. So in the midst of celebrations, do try to take a moment to think of how you can give back or help anyone in need to have a more joyful celebration this year. As we receive gifts – remember that ‘receiving, fills the pockets, but giving – fills the heart’. So give generously, and fill your heart abundantly!
