The Community Center "Thia" on Kamianetska 58/1 is a division of the Khmelnytskyi Charitable Foundation "Hesed Besht", where culture is nurtured and intercultural integration is established, where museums operate and the newest achievements of modern Jewish culture are multiplied. Therefore, it is quite natural that the first spring "Open Day" was organized here for employees of the state institution with which we cooperate most closely in this area - the Department of Culture, Nationalities and Religion of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration.
The Department's employees came in full force, led by the Head Iryna Trunova, sacrificing their lunch break. Some visited the Community Center for the first time, but most people had already visited this cultural institution at various times. Igor Ratushny, the Director of the Hesed Besht Community Foundation, personally spoke about the work of the Community Center and the Foundation in general. All the functional premises of the Center were presented to the guests, and work methods were presented with specific examples. Of course, the main event of the day was a visit to the Holocaust Memorial and Jewish Life Museums. These museums are unique and free for citizens to visit, so our Foundation is preparing to submit the relevant documentation to obtain national status. But before this happens, we planned to show the people who will consider the application what we have. Therefore, the Open Day was extremely important for the organization.
In the Museum of Jewish Life, guests were shown the methodology of working with clients “Musical Living Room”, which was conducted by the Fund’s manager Natalia Gerasimenko. For a few minutes, people were able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of music, deep morality and confident optimism in life. In the Child Development Center, employees of the Department were invited to feel like children and try the relaxation technique “sand graphics”, which has recently been practiced for children’s program students. In the conference hall, a video was shown and the essence of the activities of our main benefactor, the organization with the help of which both the Fund and the Center exist – the American Jewish Distribution Committee “Joint”.
And then a small surprise awaited the guests. Back on September 16, 2013, when our foundation celebrated the 14th anniversary of its founding, a special medal was prepared for the head of the Department, Iryna Trunova. After all, back then we celebrated people who made a special contribution to the development of our organization. (You can find out more about the awards here) That day, Iryna Nikolaevna was unable to attend the event, but the medal, as they say, found its hero. Therefore, in a solemn atmosphere, in the presence of the teams of the two partner organizations, Igor Ratushny presented the valuable award to the head of the Department.
Today's "Open Day" was far from the last: similar events have already been planned for employees of other Departments and Offices that are in close contact with the Hesed Besht Foundation. After all, together we form reliable and strong foundations for the development of society, and understanding each other is the key to the success of our common cause.
