Real Life Stories, Volunteer with Us

Ten years of helping

This year, Gift of Life is celebrating 10-year anniversary and thanks everyone who is helping children beat cancer.

We are excited to share with you the Power of 10 feature, a collection of inspiring stories about our donors, volunteers, staff members, doctors and, of course, our patients over the 10 years of Gift of Life’s successful operation.

Nadia Raud has been with us for all these years. She recalls some unforgettable moments of her journey as a volunteer of Gift of Life.

With special warmth, Nadia thinks of the gala evening in 2019 when cancer survivor Masha Dyatlova eventually met Florence, a donor who donated bone marrow cells to save Masha from aplastic anaemia.

Nadia once helped to arrange delivery of a vital medicine, unavailable in Russia, directly from London for a child with a severe allergy to standard chemo. She still can’t help smiling recalling a short message from Podari Zhizn, our sister charity in Moscow, saying that the medicine was received, and the therapy would begin without delay.

For Nadia, volunteering goes hand in hand with friendship. It cannot be otherwise, because, over the years, good friends will appear both among the recipients and among those who were there helping with you. By giving back you will learn that any problem, challenge, and fear can be overcome together.

Being alone when you are ill is frightening. But we can donate our time, give support and care to those who are otherwise left alone with pain, fear and loneliness.

It was incredibly  exciting to see Nadia winning the ZIMA Awards-2019 in the category “For selfless love for people and animals.” An interview to Zima Magazine followed. You can read it in Russian here.

Every month the Power of 10 will be updated with a new story of support. Stay tuned.