On the Saint Nicholas Day dreams of hundreds of boys and girls who are devoid of parental endearment very happily came true. As a part of a new stage of the philanthropic programme "Shakhtar to Children" 83 boarding schools for orphans and children’s communities were presented with gifts, personal computers, medical equipment and new furniture to the amount of one million dollars.
 
It is more usual for the numerous followers of Igor Krutoy to see the composer in the most prestigious concert halls in the company of Alla Pugachyova and Alexander Serov, Irina Allegrova and Valeriy Leontiev. But this time the People’s Artist of Russian was sitting at the unpretentious piano in the assembly hall of the Donetsk boarding school №1. The young performers standing around the composer were feeling like they were the winners of the TV show "Chance": it is not every day that you have a chance to sing words from the favourite song to the accompaniment of its author: "My friend, on this turn of the days I can see ever clearer - who the real friend is".
 
Young football players from Mariinka boarding school team are frequent and welcomed guests on the matches of Donetsk-based Shakhtar. They get to the stadium in the mini-bus which was presented to the school by the President of the miners’ football club ["Shakhtar" is a Ukrainian word for "coal miner"]. Judging from what we saw at the training in the gymnasium, the leaders of the Ukrainian football championship will have worthy players in future too. This autumn the school team playing in the black and orange uniform bearing words "For Shakhtar" was a prize-winner at the all-Ukrainian football festival in Brovary. Rinat Leonidovitch personally invited young sportsmen to support their favourite team in the first big game of the new season - the home UEFA Cup match against French club Nancy.
 
"We have carried out this philanthropic programme for six years running", said the Member of Parliament of Ukraine Rinat Akhmetov during his visit to the regional children’s hospital. He added: "Together with my friend Igor Krutoy we try to draw public attention to the needs of the most unprotected citizens of the country who have lost their parents".
 
In May this year System Capital Management (SCM) whose major shareholder is the President of the football club Shakhtar, presented in Kiev one of the largest charity foundations - Foundation for Development of Ukraine. One of the main areas of its activities - project "Health of the Nation" - has been developed together with the World Health Organisation into a four year programme. The project "Contemporary Education" is aimed at improvement of skills and professional development support of young specialists. "Cultural Heritage" project will include reconstruction of the national cultural and historical reserve "Sophia Kievskaya", in particular - the Metropolitan’s Residence.
 
SCM is planning to invest ten million dollars every year in implementation of these social projects. It is the absolute record for the Ukrainian corporate foundations.
 
Source: «2000» Daily

22.12.06