I. Ekaterinburg - "Youth Against Drugs" Prepares a Charitable Lottery

Drug use by young people in Sverdlovsk oblast is one of our most acute problems. In large part this is due to a lack of funding, which automatically indicates insufficient financing for programs of chemical dependency prevention and the treatment of drug addiction. Given this situation, the social organization "Youth Against Drugs" is proposing its own method of attracting resources for the war on drug addiction. This organization is planning to conduct a charitable lottery of the same name, the income from which, except for the prize money, will go toward rescuing young people from this terrible disease, which destroys not only the body but also the soul.

In the words of lottery director O. Mazur, the purpose of the lottery is not only to collect money. The lottery tickets, which will soon go on sale, intentionally show happy, smiling young boys and girls. The lottery is a large scale activity intended to attract society's attention to this significant social problem and to advocate a healthy way of life. For this reason, the drawing, accompanied by an ad campaign, will have not so much a commercial as a social character.

II. The Agency for Social Information Offers Participation in the Competition "Journalists Against AIDS"

The purpose of the competition is to draw the attention of Russian journalists to the problems of the spread of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases among young people and to improve the quality of reporting on these problems in the Russian press. The competition is intended to encourage periodicals and journalists who shed light on the issues of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and advocate the practice of safe sex. The following may take part in the competition:

1. Editorial staffs of Russian state and nongovernmental, national and Muscovite, specialized and non-specialized press that meet the following criteria:
   • Are officially registered (except for publications of educational institutions distributed to their students).
   • Are published not less than semi-annually.
   • Have not less than 4 typed pages.
   • Do not specialize in announcements of an advertising nature.

2. Employees of the mass media.

3. Free lance authors who regularly work with one or more mass media outlets.

Individual publications as well as thematic selections and series of materials by one or more authors published in a mass media outlet meeting the established criteria may be submitted for the contest. Publications of any genre are eligible. The intended reading audience is young people from age 15 to 25.

All contestants who pass a preliminary selection will receive the title of laureate as well as consolation prizes. The contest winners will receive certificates and prizes in the following categories: "Best Publication" (1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes), "Best Journalist" (1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes), and special prizes for editing and journalism (4 categories).

Those who wish to participate in the competition should submit the following materials to the organizing committee:

From editorial staffs:

• A series of publications (not less than 5) or topical reviews by one or more authors on the subject of the competition, from the beginning of 1997 to the closing date of the competition, in the form of originals or photocopies with an indication of the date of publication and the name of the journal.
• A copy of the publication's registration (except for publications issued and distributed among students)

From journalists:

• Publications or topical reviews on the subject of the competition (from the beginning of 1997 to the closing date of the competition) in the form of originals or photocopies with an indication of the date of publication....

A Committee of Experts will judge the materials submitted to the competition. It will include journalists, scholars, and representatives of state and social organizations that deal with issues of AIDS prevention.

The last day for submitting materials is July 10, 1997, at 2:00 p.m. Send your materials to Moscow, Khlebnyi per., dom 2/3 (RAIPTS).

The address of the organizing committee is:
Kutuzovskii prospekt
D. 22, pod. 14a.
121151 Moscow
Telephone/Fax: 249-8515
E mail: [email protected]

III. Disabled Children Will Not Be Able to Take an Excursion to the Troitse-St. Sergei Monastery This Year

The traditional excursion for the beneficiaries of the charitable foundation "My World" to the Troitse-St. Sergei Monastery is planned for May 17. It seems, however, that this year it will not take place.

The foundation was established in 1995 by the international association "Hematologists of the World for Children" and the Russian Foreign Policy Association (RFPA) headed by the former Foreign Minister of the USSR A. A. Bessmertnykh. The aim of the foundation is to help children suffering from oncological diseases (leukemia), their parents, and their treating physicians.

One of the basic emphases of the foundation's activity is the aesthetic education of the children. Thus, Moscow artist V. N. Vinogradov conducts painting classes. Moscow publishers give the children books, and group outings to the theater and art exhibits are organized for the children and their parents and treating physicians. In addition, the monks at the Troitse-St. Sergei monastery have organized excursions for the sick children with a traditional monastery dinner in the refectory. As foundation worker Nadezhda Konstantinovna Dorofeenaia says, the trips were a big success with the kids, and it was decided to continue the tradition in 1997. The monks at the monastery were prepared to broaden the program to include a trip to the famous holy fountain near the monastery, to which many ailing Russians have come since ancient times.

In 1996 the pharmacological company Farmakoptevo made a 30 seat bus available to the foundation free of charge [for the trip]. Since this year the number of those wishing to take part in the pilgrimage doubled, one of the largest Moscow banks promised to donate 7 million rubles for the rental of two buses. But at the last minute the bank refused the financial support, and the trip fell through. The foundation staff nonetheless hope that the trip can take place. After all, for some of the children, depending on their diagnosis, it may turn out to be their last.

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