The Children of the Svirstroy Orphanage

How Can You Help These Children?

Jacque Higgins-Rosebrook, an orphanage volunteer from the summer of 1999, started a charity, Children of Sosnovaya Street (CoSS).  Named after the street where the orphanage is located, the charity's goal is to make sure that the boys and girls that leave this orphanage do not become just another statistic.  With the money our charity raises, we help provide much needed resources to both the children in the orphanage and the children who have left the orphanage.  Twice each year, we visit Russia to:

• bring supplies
• meet with the staff at the orphanage
• talk with each of the older children to find out what their plans are for when they leave the orphanage
• visit as many of the children who have left the orphanage as we can find.

visit in May 2005, we accomplished one of our major projects when we purchased every child in the orphanage a new mattress--Although many of the children in the orphanage are older, there are still many who wet their beds.  Their old mattresses, which look like a very thin futon mattress, were stained, dirty, mite infested, and worn.  Every child is now sleeping on a new mattress from Ikea thanks to your donations.

Our current projects include:

1. Making sure the nine children who left the orphanage in August 2005 have a place to live this summer.

2. Make arrangements to insure two of the children, Katya and Vitya, are able to enter the university next year or at least enter a technical school that will allow them to transfer to the university.

3. Purchase new dishes, cups, and silverware since the orphanage does not have enough dishes, cups, and silverware for everyone to eat at the same time.  Most of the dishes and cups are chipped and broken, but it is all they have.

4. Create a post-orphanage program that will provide support to all of the children after they leave the orphanage so they can find adequate housing, education, job training, and medical care.  We will meet with other charities that are working on similar programs to see if there is some way to work together to share the costs of such a program.

5.  Take care of additional needs at the orphanage, including school supplies, medical supplies, vitamins, sports equipment, art supplies, and clothing.  With 59 kids there, their needs are really never ending.

6. Continue to visit all of the children who've been emancipated from the orphanage since the summer of 1999 to provide them with anything they may need.  It makes a world of difference to them to know that someone cares about each of them, enough to come and visit.

We cannot do all this without your help.  If a lot of people are willing to give just a little money, we can make a huge difference in the lives of these children.  If you could have seen the look on their faces and the boost to their self-esteem when we purchased them backpacks or when we gave them pencils and notebooks for school, real mattresses, and new clothing, you can only imagine what a difference it will make if we can accomplish all of our goals.

To help these children, you can make a tax-deductible donation by sending a check directly to CoSS (address below)

You are welcome to contact me directly ([email protected]) if you have any questions or concerns.

It will only take a minute, but it will make a world of difference in the lives of these children...

Find out how to make a donation to help these children

Return to the introduction page

For additional information, email me at [email protected]