The promotion is valid until September 1. Flowers of stumbling. Teachers about the campaign “Children instead of flowers. This really helps

On the eve of Knowledge Day, the ECA movement launched the all-Russian campaign “Forest instead of a bouquet”. Activists of the forest restoration and conservation project PosadiLes.ru offer to give trees to teachers.

On the website you can select a certain number of trees for a gift and make a contribution to plant them. The trees will be planted in the fall by volunteers in the affected forest areas in the regions. After planting, the certificate holder will be sent photos and GPS coordinates of the seedlings.

In special gift certificate Instead of a postcard, you can enter a text of congratulations with your wishes and dedicate the future forest to your favorite teacher, your class or school. Planted trees will become an alternative to flower bouquets that quickly die.

“Every year in Russia, by September 1, more than 10 million bouquets are sold, which a few days after the holiday are sent to the trash and replenish the growing landfills. And the donated forest will grow together with the students and become a symbol of development, kindness and wisdom,” says the head of the ECA movement Elena Gorokhova.

A certificate from PosadiLes is not just a gift. This is also evidence of participation in forest restoration. Thanks to the PosadiLes project and the support of its users, more than 100 hectares of forest have been restored in 15 Russian regions, which is equivalent to the area of 140 football fields.

The “Forest instead of a bouquet” campaign was already held in 2017. Then, thanks to its participants, funds were raised to plant two thousand trees. They were planted in Udmurtia, Novosibirsk and Penza regions in burnt forest areas.

The PosadiLes.ru project was launched in 2015 by the ECA movement. Its creators have been engaged in forest restoration for more than eight years. Volunteers planted more than 10 million seedlings in 47 regions of Russia, and created 5 thousand school nurseries. Young trees are planted in areas specially prepared by local forestry departments. They also provide subsequent care for the trees. On the project website you can pay for planting any number of trees or subscribe to a monthly payment.

The interregional environmental public organization “ECA Movement” has been operating since 2010. The movement is engaged in mass environmental education with the goal of instilling in as many people as possible a respectful attitude towards nature. Among the areas of ECA's work are the implementation of large-scale programs and projects on environmental education of children, youth and adults; formation of responsible waste management; protection of environmental rights of citizens; reforestation.

This material was prepared and submitted to the ASI editors by our readers - NGO employees and civil activists. In the “NGO Life” section, we publish news from non-profit organizations from all over Russia, while performing only minimal literary editing. The authors of the texts are responsible for the reliability of the information and the accuracy of names and dates.

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In 2014, Asya Stein, a teacher at one of the Moscow lyceums, suggested not giving teachers many bouquets on September 1, but purchasing one from the whole class and donating the remaining money to charity. The first event was held in favor of the Vera Foundation and was called “Children instead of flowers.” Over the course of five years, many other funds have joined the initiative; all the shares have different names, but the essence is the same. And the total collections of all funds are approaching one hundred million rubles. But during this time there was also a lot of controversy and dissatisfaction on the part of parents, who accused the funds of emotional blackmail and defended their right to any number of bouquets as a gift to the teacher.

“Philanthropist” asked some of the organizers of the event in 2018 why help and participation in the “Children Instead of Flowers” campaign is so important and valuable for the foundations, as well as the schoolchildren themselves and their parents.

This is a lesson in kindness for children and adults

Yulia Matveeva, President of the Vera Hospice Fund:“It is very important to learn lessons of kindness, warmth, humanity, and mutual respect in childhood. We want the “Children Instead of Flowers” campaign to unite teachers, schoolchildren and their parents in the desire to see the world in its entirety. Including noticing those who now need our help. The “Children Instead of Flowers” campaign not only helps us raise funds for the purchase of vital necessary equipment for terminally ill children, but also creates a different culture of society’s attitude towards those who were “invisible” just yesterday.

Children help children by accepting the lesson that everyone is equal and everyone has the right to a dignified active life, despite all the difficulties and obstacles.”

A holiday remains a holiday

Anna Sysoeva, development director of the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation:

“Every year there are more and more participants in such September first events - not only our fund, but also several others, for example, the Vera Hospice Fund. This means that more and more attention is being attracted to the action and there are also those who do not think it is very correct. In our experience, this usually happens in cases where people do not fully understand the mechanics of the promotion and do not understand how it works.

In no case do we want to deprive children of a holiday and take away from them the opportunity to please the teacher on the first day of school. We do not encourage you to give up flowers altogether - we encourage you to collect one, but a very beautiful and thoughtful bouquet from the class.

You can agree, for example, that each child brings a gerbera or a rose of a certain color, or buy a flower for each student in advance, distributing them in front of the line. The holiday should remain a holiday for everyone: for children, for teachers, and for those whom the first and second help by participating in a charity event.”

This is a personal choice of the students themselves and their parents

Elena Martyanova, PR Director of the Vera Hospice Fund:“We rejoice at any initiative that parents come to us with. We have been holding the “Children Instead of Flowers” campaign for the fifth year now - and every time after September 1, teachers and parents came to us again who wanted to hold a similar campaign for Teacher’s Day, hold a fair at school, or collect tea or coffee for hospices. And we very much support every such step. Of course, reading publications about how some schools hold a “prom in jeans”, abandoning dresses and pretentious parties in favor of a soulful walk and helping one or another fund, we dream that someone will decide to support us in this way. But still, this should not be an imposed decision, but the choice of the high school students themselves.”

Anyone can become a participant

Alena Meshkova, director of the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation:“The beauty of this action is that anyone can initiate it: class teacher or just a teacher, parents, or maybe an individual child. There is no need to wait for any order from the director or, especially, the Department of Education. Last year, for example, we had a case when a sixth-grader from Novy Urengoy, having read about such an initiative in social network, persuaded classmates and their parents to participate - as a result, this class raised 18,601 rubles for children with brain tumors. And the whole city found out about it thanks to the local TV channel, which she invited.

We want as much as possible more people realized that the “Lessons of Kindness” campaign is, in fact, beneficial for everyone: parents don’t have to rack their brains over a bouquet, teachers don’t have to carry home three armfuls of completely different flowers, children get involved in charity, and kids who are still sick and don’t can go to school and receive invaluable help.”

There are always more bouquets on September 1 than a teacher can take home

Anna Mikhailova, curator of the “Flowers with Meaning” campaign at the Creation Foundation: “ There are always more bouquets than a teacher can take home, and many teachers are sad to see flowers left in the classroom soon die. That’s why we suggest thinking about giving the teacher one large, beautiful bouquet from the class, and donating the equivalent of the cost of the remaining flowers to our charity foundation for medical care for children with serious and rare diseases.”

This really helps

In 2017, the Vera Foundation and the House with a Lighthouse children's hospice supported 1,157 schools and 6,500 classes from 132 cities and towns in Russia. As a result, together the two organizations collected a fantastic amount - more than 39 million rubles

The “Lessons of Good” campaign of the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation was supported by 134 classes from 61 schools in 2016 and 2017 alone. Over the course of two years, students and their parents transferred almost one and a half million rubles to the fund. Thanks to this amount, it was possible to help thirteen children with brain tumors: they paid for examinations, treatment, medications, consumables and rehabilitation courses necessary for recovery after treatment.

In 2017, 15 classes from 6 Moscow schools took part in the “Creation” fund’s campaign. In total, “Flowers with Meaning” collected 240,040 rubles, which were used to pay for treatment for 6 children with various diseases.

September 1st is happiness. As well as the ability to share it

Lida Moniava, Deputy Director of the House with a Lighthouse Children's Hospice: “ The House with a Lighthouse Children's Hospice cares for 500 terminally ill children. You can’t imagine how their parents would like, like all ordinary people, to take their child to school on September 1, to take an ordinary photo with flowers and a school backpack, without this damn tube in the neck, without a wheelchair, without a ventilator. But you are unlikely to meet terminally ill children at school, because our city is not adapted for the disabled, and a wheelchair costs as much as a car.

Please tell your healthy children that life can be very different. Happiness is to get up early in the morning - on your own feet. Happiness is when you can eat your own breakfast.

Happiness is when you can say “hello” to your classmates. Happiness is to stand in this large crowd on the morning of September 1st and smile. But the greatest happiness in the world is when you can help someone. To do, even just a little, for another person. As a sign of solidarity with families where children with incurable diseases live, we urge you to take part in the “Children Instead of Flowers” charity event.”

The charity event “Children instead of flowers” will traditionally be held on Knowledge Day. Its essence is simple: do not buy it for the teacher, but give one bouquet from the class. The money saved is donated to help sick children. Every year more and more schools join the action. Last year, 6.5 thousand classes from different regions of Russia took part. Then almost half a thousand families received money. Currently, 700 children across the country are waiting for help. Read more in the material of MIR 24 correspondent Artem Vasnev.

- They gave you one bouquet, and was that enough?

- Yes, my parents gave me one bouquet, and I was glad.

Mathematics teacher Yulia Yakovleva has been in the profession for 13 years. In the career of every teacher, a bouquet on September 1 is the norm. But five years ago it appeared new tradition, which has become an all-Russian campaign: saving on bouquets for charity. The meaning of the flash mob: one bouquet goes to the class teacher, the rest of the money goes to seriously ill children.

“The greatest joy on Knowledge Day is to meet our children on the threshold of school,” noted mathematics teacher at School No. 498 in Moscow, Yulia Yakovleva.

In Russia, this year the lines will bring together 15.5 million schoolchildren. A million of them are first graders. The kids are guaranteed to come with flowers. The average bouquet in Moscow is about 1,500 rubles, in the regions the price tag is 1,000 rubles. Simple arithmetic. If on September 1st all schoolchildren in the country come with flowers, then it will be quite a decent amount - 15 billion rubles.

“Agree with the teacher to come to the lineup with one flower instead of a bouquet. Put it all into one beautiful bouquet, and use the saved money for charity and make hundreds of seriously ill children happy,” says the PR director of the Vera Hospice Fund.

Last year, 132 cities took part in the event. Raised millions. The Vera Foundation reports for every ruble. This is for the skeptics. The Bashinkaev family doesn’t even think about it. Parents are doctors, they know what pain and illness are, and they tell the truth to their children.

“Very right decision. One bouquet of it will be enough for the teacher. But children still need money more,” says Zulyana Bashinkaeva.

Mom, returning from work, brings each of her four children a carnation. The round sum is converted into good. The funds will also go to help this blond girl - Kira is now undergoing a rehabilitation course.

Second-grader Kira got an electric scooter just this spring. She will now ride it to school. The girl has a serious genetic disease - . The body is naughty, and Kira dreams of becoming an actress.

“Well, we have dances at school and I liked the dances. Everything works out for me and I don’t need to do anything there at all. It’s easy to remember,” says the schoolgirl.

“On New Year’s Day, Kira participated, we had a concert, Kira was our Snow Maiden. I sewed a dress for her walker. And she made a splash there,” said her mother Alla.