Sign outside the Vologda Center

Comfort Foundation in Vologda

The staff of Comfort Foundation accomplishes so much with so little! In Vologda, our staff regularly:

• Teaches weekly lessons on spiritual and moral principles (based on the Bible) to approximately 250 children in several different orphanages
• Spends time playing with the children, who often come visit us at the Comfort Foundation office and in our homes
• Celebrates birthdays with the children, which is very important in Russian culture
• Coordinates volunteers who teach vocational classes and tutor children in various subjects
• Assists orphanages with special programs and concerts, especially for Christmas and Easter
• Holds meetings for the Graduates Club, Image Studio and Patriot Program
• Locates and distributes donations of furniture, clothes, gifts and money to help orphans as they transition to independent living and to assist needy families
• Loves children and others in any way they are able

The Graduates Club is coordinated by Comfort Foundation staff in Vologda. Many of the young men and women who participate in this program are children from the orphanages who have grown up attending camps and lessons with Comfort Foundation staff. The staff saw a need for this program when they realized that the orphanage graduates often found themselves in difficult situations after leaving the orphanages without any support. The graduates are given a sum of money, a living space, and nothing else.

Enter Comfort Foundation staff. The social workers in Vologda meet with the students once or twice a week, beginning approximately a year before they graduate from the orphanages. The staff teaches these young men and women skills in budgeting, job searching, personal care and much more. In many cases, Comfort Foundation staff members assist the students in finding furniture for their new living spaces, as well as painting and decorating.

The Patriot Program is led by our staff in Vologda and is designed to teach boys how to be men. As one might imagine, the children with whom Comfort Foundation staff work most closely have been abandoned by those who were supposed to love them without question. This abandonment takes an enormous toll on a child's development. Comfort Foundation staff members meet with underprivileged boys and young men from orphanages once or twice a week and organize special programs for them, such as camping and hiking. Through these meetings and programs, the Comfort Foundation staff members teach boys how to be men - including lessons in respecting women, respecting themselves and caring for themselves and others.