Volunteer service in honor of St. John the Merciful

Whoever renders mercy to his neighbor, will find mercy with the Lord.
St. Ephrem the Syrian

At our monastery we have a volunteer department since 2002. The need for its creation was prompted by circumstances themselves: oftentimes people under strained circumstances, destitute and sick, come to the church; by turn, those who are capable of rendering help to those in need, frequently wish to do so namely through the Church.

Recently our volunteer department was expanded and renamed volunteer service in honor of St. John the Merciful.

The main areas of the areas of cooperation are the collection and distribution of clothing for the needy; care of the elderly and the handicapped; assistance to children abandoned by their parents and to families with many children.

The volunteer organization is accepting donations all the year round: goods, clothing for adults and children, and medications. All the goods are sorted and distributed to the needy: part of it is given to be distributed among the people who come to the soup kitchen; part of it -- to the elderly and seriously ill people whom the department patronizes; children's goods, stationery, and toys are passed on to large and single-parent families.

The long Lenten periods preceding the great Orthodox feasts of Christ's Nativity and Pascha – are special time for charity. During those days, the monastery conducts charity acts in order to collect gifts for underprivileged children. Due to the responsiveness of a great number of people, over 400 children from low-income families of the Verkhotursky region, from village and country orphanages, from large or low-income families from Ekaterinburg receive gifts.

Accepted as gifts for the children are financial donations, books, developmental games, stationery, and other things needed for school-age children, as well as everything for the sports games and sweets. Underprivileged children are particularly sensitive to benevolence, they are genuinely happy to receive gifts and sincerely thank people for their generosity and cordiality. Donations can be brought daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. to the following address: Zelenaya Roshcha, 1, the building opposite the church kiosk. To facilitate the work of our volunteers, we request that the donations brought be in good condition. You can also leave a note with your name and the names of your baptized Orthodox family members to be prayed for their health and salvation in our monastery.