"When you have success, you have to use it all the time. My activities began after the tragedy in Beslan. I sat in front of the TV for three days and cried. Most of all in life I hate injustice, and this was its highest degree! Then I realized that I could “cure” myself after what happened only if I started doing something."
Throughout August, the public was heatedly discussing the conflict that occurred in Nizhny Novgorod - a girl suffering from autism and cerebral palsy was driven out of a cafe in Avtozavodsky Park. Who knows, perhaps if the girl had not turned out to be the younger and beloved sister of the world-famous model Natalia Vodianova, the situation would have gone unnoticed. But there was someone to stand up for the girl, and the scandal began to gain momentum.
At the same time, Natalya admitted that she made this incident public in order to draw attention to the problems of people with disabilities, to the need to develop the rather costly social idea of “inclusion” - the introduction of patients with cerebral palsy into society. "Physical disability is a real problem in Russia, which everyone denies. And now even more than in Soviet times. I want to draw attention to this problem."
Natasha's family lived poorly. The girl was forced to wear other people's clothes and began working at the age of 11, selling fruit at the local market. She was often forced to miss school because she had to take care of her sister. Natalya still remembers the disgusted and pitiful looks of her neighbors when she had to take her seriously ill sister out into the yard. Today, thanks to her appearance, Vodianova managed to gain both fame and wealth. Currently, Natasha is known all over the world and is one of the highest paid and sought-after models.
For Natalya, the first “style icon” in her life was her grandmother Larisa. “She always dressed well, she had beautiful things - shoes, gloves, scarves. Grandma woke up at 6 in the morning, ran in the park, swam in the icy lake and cooked breakfast for me,” Natalya shared her memories in an interview with the publication "The Telegraph". It was the grandmother who noticed the girl’s physical advantages, especially the beauty of her eyebrows, and predicted a modeling career for her.
When Natalya turned 15, encouraged by a boy who was in love with her eyebrows, she went to modeling school, and at the age of 17, after taking English courses, she ended up in Paris, where success was not long in coming. True, saving on everything, Natasha was able to send her mother only $200.
“I only spent $100 a week, which is very little for Paris. I spent 25 dollars on chicken and pasta, 50 on a subway pass and saved 25,” said Natalya.
Two years later, Natalya met her future husband Justin Portman, gave birth to three children and successfully continued her career, receiving very lucrative contracts and invitations from the most famous fashion publications. Returning to business after having children was not an easy task for Natalia, however, she actively began collaborating with Stella McCartney, presenting her collections. In 2010, Natalia broke up with Justin Portman and met Antoine Arnault, the son of the owner of a controlling stake in LVMH, with whom she gave birth to a son, Maxim, last year.
The main source of stress relief for Natalia is her children and transcendental meditation." It must be done every morning and evening. An individual mantra is used, for this you need to find a teacher who will give it, they are everywhere,” says Natalya -“You read a mantra and descend into the very core of yourself, where you exist in connection with the Universe. You completely relax and allow yourself to simply exist. We accumulate stress that we cannot get rid of even during sleep. And 20 minutes of TM - it's like 5 hours of sleep. That is, per day you seem to sleep 10 hours more than usual. At first there is lethargy, because a lot of stress comes out that was so deep that you didn’t even get to the bottom of it. But in general it gives a lot of energy ".
Since Natalya’s sister Oksana has been disabled since childhood, the top model shows great attention to people with disabilities.
For more than 10 years she has been involved in the Naked Hearts charity foundation. Currently, as part of the foundation's work, a project is being implemented to build children's playgrounds in Russian cities. For charitable purposes, Natalya collaborates with the largest shoe retailer in Russia, Tsentroobuv, with the sports brand Bosco, and with major fashion houses in America, France and Britain. All profits received from the sale of collections of shoes, clothing and jewelry go to the Naked Heart Foundation. Last year, Natalia Vodianova created a design for women's wristwatches in collaboration with the Petrozavodsk plant "Raketa". Part of the proceeds from the sale of the watch was also donated to Naked Heart.
According to Forbes magazine, Natalia Vodianova earns £4 million from modeling - £ 8 million per year.
"Children are our future. I think protecting your family and giving everything to your family is very important. This is probably even the most important thing in life. I raised two sisters, one of whom is disabled. And I know what it is like to have a sick child in our state, and the suffering this entails. But I will try to do everything possible to help not only disabled children, but also homeless and talented kids."
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She first started doing charity work at the age of 22. “One day my life got better. From past material problems, only memories remain. I already got married, gave birth to a child and made good money myself,” Natalya says in one of her interviews. – And one day I came to my native Nizhny Novgorod and decided to watch the news. I was shocked when I saw what was really happening in the world... Pain, suffering, children's tears... Then I thought: how can I help? After all, quite recently I myself needed help. Since childhood, my younger sister Oksana has not been like everyone else (Oksana suffers from a severe form of autism - note Wday), and I know how hard it is. I remember how people avoided us, and medicine was expensive, and there were all sorts of troubles.”
At first, Natalia Vodianova helped those in need in any way she could. She found families herself, went to them, and showed material and moral support. And in 2004, she realized her dream - she opened the Naked Heart Foundation, already well-known throughout Russia. Moreover, the model not only manages it, but also actively participates in all events. When asked how she manages to keep up with everything, Vodianova answers briefly: “The more I give, the more strength and energy I receive in return.”
The mission of the Naked Heart Foundation reads: “To ensure that every child’s life has what is absolutely necessary for a full, happy childhood: a loving family and a safe, educational play space.” To achieve this goal, Vodianova uses her own connections: she organizes charity events and auctions, and also launches profitable projects (be it a shoot in a magazine or the launch of a line of shoes), all the income from which goes to a good cause.
Thanks to the Natalia Vodianova Foundation, free institutions are being created in Russia to provide assistance to families raising children with special needs; teachers are trained to work with such children; inclusive children's playgrounds are being built. In addition, in 2011, on her initiative, the “Every Child Deserves a Family” project was created, the goal of which is to draw attention to the problem of parents abandoning children with serious illnesses.
Natalia Vodianova has four children, and often takes the older ones with her on charity trips. “I want my children to understand that they are lucky in life, they have everything they need, which means they should be open to helping others,” Natalya often repeats in her interviews.
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Angelina Jolie
Another person whose good deeds are known to the whole world is, of course,. Who would have thought 20 years ago that the controversial actress would change her priorities and take a different path?
Angelina Jolie came to the idea of charity suddenly. This happened in Cambodia on the set of the film "Lara Croft - Tomb Raider." Then another world opened up to the actress, in which there is poverty and hunger. “After I saw the lives of people in Cambodia, I hated myself and my life. All my experiences became complete stupidity for me,” Angelina then admitted. And after filming, she went on a humanitarian mission to third world countries, and sent $1 million to refugees in Pakistan. Over four years, Jolie visited more than 20 countries, in each of which she took part in helping children, the sick and refugees. “I completely rethought my life and began spending more than half of my income on charity. And what was my surprise that, despite my certain detachment from the film industry at that moment, offers from directors literally poured in,” the actress once said. “Then I became convinced that if you help others, fate begins to help you, but only twice as much.”
Angelina Jolie's work can be judged by the awards she has received: she has been awarded the title of UN Goodwill Ambassador, the UN Humanitarian Award, an Oscar for active volunteer humanitarian work, and an OBE. In addition, the actress makes presentations at various political forums and has significant authority over many politicians.
Jolie also became the founder of several foundations in Cambodia involved in environmental protection and providing treatment to children affected by HIV, and a center for children affected by man-made and natural disasters.
And, as you know, Angelina herself is raising three adopted and three of her biological children. And sources close to the actress recently reported that she does not want to stop there. And just recently she made an official statement that after completing several projects she would leave cinema in order to devote all her time to her family and charity.
Chulpan Khamatova
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Actively supports helping children in Russia. It all started when the actress received an offer to hold a charity concert, all proceeds from which would be used to purchase a device for the treatment of children with cancer. She agreed, but the event did not raise the required amount of funds. Chulpan did not despair and, together with actress Dina Korzun, organized the second such concert. The next attempt was not in vain: we managed to collect about $300 thousand, this amount was enough! However, Chulpan and Dina decided not to stop there and continue the good deed. The following year they again organized a concert and held a number of events. “The desire to help arose in me immediately after I saw with my own eyes the difficulties our domestic medicine faces: there is not enough medicine, equipment, and just good conditions,” the actress once said in an interview.
In 2006, she and Dina Korzun founded the Gift of Life foundation, which by 2009 had raised more than 500 million rubles for the treatment of children. The actresses are personally involved in organizing all the center’s projects, and also regularly visit sick children and their families. In 2012, they opened a branch of the fund in London.
The actress also attracts many stars of Russian show business to charity and we advise all people to help others if possible. “When you see people’s troubles, your head snaps into place,” Chulpan Khamatova often says. “For example, I have discovered a lot for myself since I founded the foundation: I understood what is really important in this life, I learned to see true values, and I also met a huge number of kind and sympathetic people.”
As you know, Chulpan Khamatova combines her acting career and work at the foundation with raising two daughters, whom, by the way, she often takes with her to charity events. “It’s very useful for children to know what happens in our world,” she once said.
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Shakira
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She comes from Colombia, so she knows everything about poverty and living conditions in this country. And, unlike many other celebrities who came to charity by accident, from childhood she set herself a single goal: to achieve success at all costs in order to help those in need. And since the future star began to show her talents from the age of 4 (it was at this age that she composed her first poem), by the age of 30 Shakira became known throughout the world. Moreover, she did not give up her dream and first of all began to transfer huge sums of her fees to poor Colombian children. And in 1997, the singer founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, which builds schools throughout Colombia. Shakira monitors the development of the foundation personally, and also regularly gives a huge number of charity concerts.
It’s amazing how optimistic Shakira is when she communicates with children, poor families and people affected by natural disasters. Eyewitnesses say that after communicating with the singer, people want to believe for the best and move on with their lives. She literally charges you with energy.
It is also worth talking separately about its activities in poor regions of Latin America and Asia. She personally tours abandoned areas and talks with girls about the importance of education and independence in their lives. As is known, in some states of these countries, female education is still very rare.
The singer’s efforts, of course, were rewarded. She has received the UNICEF Medal, the UN International Labor Organization Medal, an award from MTV in the “Free Your Mind” category, became the honorary chair of the 2008 Week of Activism aimed at raising awareness of Colombia's World Education Campaign, and most importantly, two years ago Barak Obama appointed her to the White House Initiative to Advance the Education of Hispanic Americans.
Shakira gives herself completely to charity and work, but she tries not to say anything about her personal life. Many novels were attributed to her, but none of them were confirmed. Only in 2012 did the singer begin to appear in public with a Spanish football player, and at the beginning of 2013 their son Milan was born.
In 2004, a native of Nizhny Novgorod founded the international foundation "". With her example, she inspired millions of people around the world to do good deeds.
Natalia Vodianova was brought into charity by her personal history and inner need to help the weak. The successful model and mother was greatly shocked by the events in Beslan. After the incident, she realized that she could not sit idly by and wanted to do at least something to help the children survive this tragedy. This is how the idea of the foundation was born, and from that moment on, its success made sense.
Fund for those who care
Natalya Vodianova was lucky: she did not encounter any serious difficulties when organizing the foundation; her like-minded people supported her at every step of its formation.
The only thing that took quite a lot of time and effort was registering the fund in Russia. But this was done in a manner prescribed by law, and this is what every charity goes through. It just takes some time.
Who provided support at the stage of formation in Russia and the world?
Nizhny Novgorod provided the greatest support. The fund was registered there. And the designer Diane von Furstenberg, who has since become one of the foundation’s closest friends and a personal friend, helped me organize my first fundraising event in 2004. But in general, the foundation has many friends and supporters, and we are very grateful to them for this.
How do you choose the vector where to send help?
This is primarily personal experience. In general, I believe that charity is effective only when there is personal motivation and understanding of the problem from the inside. I know all the social problems that the foundation deals with - supporting families with children who have developmental disabilities and solving the problem of lack of play spaces - from my personal experience.
How much money goes through Naked Heart each year? What are you sending them to?
The amounts vary from year to year. In 2012, for example, we donated about 160 million rubles to social projects, and in 2011 - 49 million rubles. It all depends on how much money we manage to attract. But I can say that over all the years of the foundation’s existence, the total amount invested in charitable projects is more than 16 million euros. The funds go to the foundation's two main programs - the construction of play parks and programs to support families raising children with developmental disabilities. Our main goal of working within the framework of this program is to stop the influx of disabled children into orphanages and boarding schools. Moreover, we finance not only the foundation’s own projects, such as the annual international forum for specialists in childhood disorders “Every Child Deserves a Family,” but also dozens of other organizations. Among them are the Center for Curative Pedagogy in Moscow, “Perspectives” in St. Petersburg, “Valeocenter” in Tula, “Aistenok” in Yekaterinburg, about 20 projects to conduct summer integrative camps for children with disabilities and many others.
What is the structure of the fund’s budget by sources of formation: what share is made up of membership fees of the founders, charitable donations, receipts from the federal budget and receipts from fundraising activities?
The foundation's budget consists of 100% charitable donations. They come in a variety of ways - through a specially created page on our website, at events we organize, from companies and individuals who believe in what we do and simply want to help. Quite often, my personal fees go directly to the fund, but the majority are, of course, donations from caring people.
According to the law, organizations can use 20% of funds allocated to administrative needs for administrative needs. What are you spending it on?
In this regard, we are a unique organization, not only by Russian standards, but also by global standards. The fact is that we only spend 5% on administrative expenses. So we treat the funds entrusted to us very responsibly and use them exceptionally clearly. We have a small but strong team: we don't need 50 employees to do what we do. Today there are 13 of us, including me.
Create a culture of giving
According to Natalia Vodianova, in Russia those who make donations lack tax breaks, charitable organizations lack public trust and the opportunity to receive funds from the state, and everyone lacks clear rules of the game. And most importantly - dialogue and exchange of best practices between non-profit charitable organizations and government services, close cooperation. This, in her opinion, is the key to the success of all social initiatives.
What is typical for charity in Europe, the USA and Russia and how are they fundamentally different?
American philanthropy has a long history. Therefore, today, according to Price Waterhouse Coopers, more than 62% of US residents give to the charitable sector and non-profit organizations. In Russia - about 20%. Both there and in Europe, helping others is not the prerogative of the rich, but an absolutely normal practice for all members of society. And I am very pleased that in Russia the culture of charity is developing. This is evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of donations to Naked Heart come from Russians.
That is, Russian charity does not yet reach the world level?
Yes, and the numbers show this. But I really hope that, given the natural tendency of Russians to help each other and the development of the economy, we will soon reach a sufficiently high level when public initiatives will be financed by the members of society themselves.
What do you think about the popularity of online fundraising?
In my opinion, today it has become an absolutely integral part of our lives and the existence of the charitable sector around the world. The Internet provides enormous opportunities not only for raising funds, but also for disseminating information about social problems and ways to solve them.
What projects has Naked Heart already implemented in your hometown?
Nizhny Novgorod is a special city for us. Here we built our first play park, and here in the Swiss park we will implement our 100th play facility this summer. And most importantly, our Family Support Center has been operating in the city since October 2011. There, parents of children with developmental disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and mental retardation can not only bring their children to classes with specialists, but also seek help. The center's specialists will teach them how to communicate with their children and help them obtain benefits and resolve legal and legal issues. Today, about 60 families regularly visit the center, but the demand for these services in the city is much higher. It turns out they are absolutely free.
What else are you planning to create here in the future?
We are planning to expand this year. The city municipality has just allocated us a building with an area of 700 sq.m. in the Moskovsky district. Thanks to this, our foundation will be able to work with a larger number of children and their families and expand the range of services.
In addition, we have financed a number of projects in the region. For example, the integrative summer camp “Young Nizhny Novgorod” for children with disabilities, a project to support foster families at an orphanage in the city of Zavolzhye and, of course, we continue to build play facilities in the region. In addition, the foundation is on the verge of launching a joint educational program with the city department of education - the introduction of modern technologies for teaching children with autism spectrum disorders in correctional schools in Nizhny Novgorod. In general, we have a lot of work in the region.
Does your foundation collaborate with other charitable organizations, do you do joint projects?
We fund a range of charities working to support children with special needs. And our relationship, of course, is very close and partnership-based. We don’t just allocate funds, but also help them grow and become stronger, providing them with access to modern expertise and the latest developments. We have common problems, and, of course, we need to solve them together.
There is an opinion that charity is akin to business and it can be
make good money. Do you agree with this?
Charity is similar to business only in that it must be just as well organized. But for me, making money from charity is fundamentally out of the question.
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For four years in a row, Natalia Vodianova, together with the staff of her Naked Heart Foundation, has been running a charity half-marathon in Paris. This year she took part in the Color Run in Moscow, which was held for the first time in the Russian capital, and told HELLO! how she prepared for this event.
Natalya Vodyanova
About the Colorful Marathon in Moscow and your participation in it
The staff of the Naked Heart Foundation and I have been running for five years now, but this is our first time participating in the marathon in Moscow. Moscow is such an interesting city for running, besides, five kilometers is not a serious distance, this is not a 42-kilometer marathon, a lot of people must come. Personally, this figure makes me very happy - it’s so round. No more. To be honest, running is not my favorite activity.
About sports
Each of my races is given to me by incredible efforts. This is a real physical challenge for myself, because I don’t do any sports at all. And running is the simplest, most understandable activity. Anyone can run with a little practice.
About preparing for the races
I prepared for my first race, as it seems to me now, even too much. Then my knees hurt for a long time. The next year I thought: “I’ll try without training, if anything, I’ll take a walk.” I ran, and, surprisingly, it was even easier for me to run, nothing hurt.
About the meaning of the Colorful Run and what the funds will be used for
For the development of the Naked Heart Family Support Center in Nizhny Novgorod. For the third year now, the center has been working with children and adolescents with diagnoses such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and mental retardation, and also provides psychological and legal assistance to their parents. For them, such a center is the only opportunity to organize their life differently, to make it a little better.
About moral satisfaction
It's nice to help. And as for the Colorful Run, what matters is not how much you run, but why you run. You can simply transfer money, help some fund, or you can donate the most valuable thing - your time, and for me personally such an act is much more valuable than financial assistance. After all, as a rule, we barely find time for things of the second or third degree of importance. I mean family, work, and there’s no time to meet friends anymore. And therefore, no matter what, every year my team and I gather at such events to feel something more than job satisfaction. You won’t get such feelings while sitting in an office and solving routine issues. It's hard for me to explain this feeling, but I really like such moments in my life.
About the Naked Heart Foundation team
The team of the Naked Heart Foundation is 12 people, mostly girls, specialists in various fields. They live and work in different cities around the world, and each has its own story. Most often, we meet through work, then we warm to each other and decide to do something together. Most likely, it is the desire to do something worthwhile with the same professionalism as at your job.
About the most effective project of the fund
Events like the annual charity ball are something we do well. But, rather, less noticeable events are more important to us. For example, last year our team organized the first forum in Moscow to support families raising children with special needs. We gathered about 400 specialists from all over the country, paid for their arrival and accommodation, and offered them a program that turned out to be very useful for them. It seems to me that today this is a great achievement.
On participation in the fate of flood victims in Krymsk
The decision to go to Krymsk was made spontaneously and intuitively. We gathered a group of psychologists, volunteers, and basic necessities and went to the scene of the tragedy. And now I can say that the action was objectively successful. Children came to our camp, which provided the victims with everything they needed - we all tried to distract them and pay attention to everyone. Now the picture is before our eyes: we were already closing our tent camp, and the children who survived the tragedy continued to play in the rain, not paying attention to anything. For me it was a success. We helped them get through that summer, survive it with the feeling that they managed it, got rid of the fear of water. Of course, the tragedy will remain with them, but they will still have a small but positive memory associated with this event.
About moving from the suburbs of London to Paris
Paris is my second home, which I have always loved, the only city I truly know. Not only am I less able to navigate in Moscow, but also, perhaps, even in Nizhny Novgorod, where I was born. Because there I only knew my area and the upper part of the city, where we went for a walk on the weekends. In Paris, at the beginning of my career, I lived on $70 a week. I had to constantly travel to castings in different parts, so I studied it inside and out.
About favorite places in the capital of France
We have a favorite restaurant, le Relais de l "Entrecote - this is a chain of restaurants in Paris. The only thing they serve is meat. One of the most democratic restaurants in the world. The only person for whom a table is reserved there is the president. You're standing along with everyone in the queue and tell the waiter, who serves everyone exactly the same, how you like your meat done. It’s very fun. You can meet all kinds of people there. They have some incredibly tasty sauce, the recipe of which they keep a big secret.
About the difficulties you have to face
You have to sacrifice yourself. (Laughs.) Sometimes you feel sorry for yourself - there is absolutely no time to sit in silence and read. Like any person, I just need to be distracted and switch. If you are focused on a task and think too much about it, you become fixated and stop seeing it objectively. I am generally a very curious person, I like to discover new things, people, topics. I really like to read. But more often it happens like this - I open something and, before I have time to immerse myself in the atmosphere of the book, I am already forced to “emerge” from it.
About family responsibilities
I try to be at home on weekends and attend all important events for the children: performances, matinees. At the end of the school year there are a huge number of them - four concerts a week for a month - a nightmare! (Laughs.)
About what her children are interested in
"Gifted" is too strong a word. But nevertheless, everyone is doing it with pleasure. Neva loves to draw and goes to ballet. Everyone plays the piano and tennis. Boys develop like boys, Neva - like a girl. We try to give them as much as possible, and then provide them with a choice and narrow the program. Lucas just stopped playing basketball and it's a shame. He is 11 years old, he is as tall as me, and basketball suits him very well. But since this is a French team and all the boys are French, they simply don’t pass the ball to him. And we are now looking for a new club to go with his friend. They might have more fun together.
On involving children in charity
I consciously do this. I remember how they ate with appetite after visiting yet another difficult orphanage and how quietly they behaved. In fact, they are very noisy children, emotional, with life, energy, and fun in full swing. And on the way back they tried very hard to behave well, they were so quiet and aware. Once a year they have such trips...
About the French education system
The French education system is very similar to the one adopted in Russia. Whether you like it or not, you must study all subjects, pass exams, and then do whatever you want. Now in Paris they study at an international school, but it is still located in France, and the principles are the same. But for them it’s even good. At an English school they don't look at your handwriting or how you make presentations. The most important thing is the development of the creative part, not the discipline. This has always annoyed me. When I was doing homework with my eldest, I asked: “How do you accept a notebook with such handwriting? If I were your teacher, I would refuse to read it, it’s simply impossible!”
About rest and travel
We go to America every year, to Connecticut, to a small village where there is no one. And then, at the end of August, we go to Nizhny Novgorod.
About mom and sisters
Oksana with her mother in Novgorod. I talk to my mother often, of course. The youngest, Christina, is studying in England, passed her intermediate exams, and we are looking for a university. She has been living in London since she was 13, under my care, my wing, she is like my fourth child. This is a good school for me, because now I understand what I need to prepare for - soon I will have to resolve the same issues with Lucas. In a good way, now we need to start thinking about what suits him.
About a positive attitude
I am a very positive person and I believe that everything that happens is for the better. And if you are dissatisfied with something, then either it shouldn’t have happened, or you didn’t work hard enough. And this is a lesson for the future. Maybe my positivity borders a little on naivety. As my grandmother used to say, “until the roast rooster bites.” But this rooster hasn’t pecked yet, and how can he peck when you always look at everything from a positive point of view. We are largely responsible only for our reaction - from what angle we look at things. This is what we decide. Positive or negative, throw yourself under a train or move on with your life? Personally, no matter what happens, I decide to move on every time.
0 March 8, 2014, 20:00On the site - the stories of two more representatives of the fair sex, which we cannot help but remember on International Women's Day. Let us remind you that in honor of the holiday, we launched a special project telling about the most influential, successful, talented women in the world who inspire by their example.
Today we will talk about those for whom fame does not hinder, but, on the contrary, helps to do good deeds. Representatives of the fair sex who have impressed us with their charitable activities are an actress and a top model.
Natalya recently surprised the public by starring in a film dedicated to the Paralympic Games, in which she appeared with a bionic prosthetic leg - as a sign that tragedy can happen to anyone. And this is not the first time that Vodianova has personally taken part in projects aimed at drawing attention to important issues.
The future supermodel was born and raised in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod). At the age of 16, the girl was enrolled in a modeling agency, and left her hometown when a scout from the Viva Model Management agency noticed her at one of the screenings and invited her to work in Paris.
How successfully the Russian woman’s career developed further is well known. It is enough to mention that the model worked on shows of almost all the most influential fashion brands, and was the face of Chanel, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and many other brands.
The beautiful “Cinderella story” was continued by Natalya’s wedding to British aristocrat Justin Portman, with whom she has three children. True, as we know, the “fairytale” love story did not last too long: in 2011, the couple announced their separation.
Vodianova is now expecting a child with her fiancé Antoine Arnault.
It seems that life itself pushed the Russian supermodel to do charity work, because at an early age she came face to face with misfortune: Natalya’s younger sister Oksana has been disabled since childhood and suffers from a severe form of autism.
Another impetus for creating our own charitable foundation was the tragedy in Beslan. It was in an attempt to help affected children that Vodianova founded the Naked Heart Foundation. The model set out to build a play park in Beslan in order to please the children at least a little, and, albeit not immediately, she brought this plan to life.
Now, thanks to Naked Heart, many playgrounds have already been built throughout the country. The fund's goal is at least 500 such objects.
The foundation also runs a program called “Every child deserves a family!” The work is aimed at supporting families raising children with special needs in an attempt to stop the abandonment of such children and their flow into orphanages.
Natalya does not remain indifferent to human misfortunes: for example, in the summer of 2012, as soon as she learned about the devastating flood in Krymsk, the celebrity went to the affected city as a volunteer. Its main goal was to provide the affected residents with professional psychological help.
Just a month before this trip, Natalya held a charity football match in Moscow to help disabled children, in which, by the way, she herself participated. The model’s initiative was supported by Dmitry Malikov, Igor Vernik, Ilya Averbukh, as well as famous athletes and politicians.
In addition, Vodianova periodically acts as an organizer of various social events of a charitable nature: auctions and balls, the most famous of which is the traditional one. Even such important people as Prince Albert and his wife Charlene attend this event.
Charity marathons have also become a tradition, in which Natalya herself and the Naked Heart Foundation team participate. A few days ago, another similar race took place in Paris, and even the fact that she would soon become a mother again did not stop the model from becoming a participant.
Speaking about women in charity, we, of course, could not help but recall another Russian celebrity.
Chulpan Khamatova is not only a beloved actress, but also a well-known philanthropist. For several years now, the film and theater star has been trying to provide help to those who need it so much.
Khamatova was born in Kazan. As a child, the girl was involved in figure skating, but, it seems, she didn’t even think about an acting career: after school, she decided to study as an economist. But everything turned out differently: having already been enrolled in a university, Chulpan took her documents and entered the Kazan Theater School. The actress's talent was noticed by teachers - they helped the student continue her studies in Moscow by enrolling in GITIS.
Since 1998, Chulpan has been playing at the Sovremennik Theater, and has been acting in films since her third year: then director Vadim Abdrashitov gave her a role in the film “The Time of a Dancer,” and this work brought the young actress a nomination for “Nika” for Best Actress.
The breakthrough was the role of Rita in Valery Todorovsky’s film “Country of the Deaf,” after which Khamatova became famous throughout the country. Then there were “Moon Dad”, “Death of the Empire”, “Children of the Arbat”, “Doctor Zhivago” and other films.
In 2012, the actress received the title of People's Artist of Russia.
Khamatova is raising three children: daughters Arina and Asya from her first husband, actor Ivan Volkov, and three-year-old Iya from her current husband, actor and director Alexander Shein.
Chulpan began to engage in charity work together with actress Dina Korzun, with whom they formed a brilliant duet in “The Country of the Deaf.” In 2005, Khamatova and Korzun organized a charity concert “Give Me Life” on the stage of Sovremennik to help sick children.
A year later, the actresses founded a charitable foundation of the same name, the main goal of which was to help children suffering from cancer, hematological and other serious diseases. Since then, the foundation has been holding various events in favor of young patients of several Russian medical institutions.
Each time these events are supported by famous friends and colleagues of Korzun and Khamatova. So, in mid-January, the actresses spent the third time in London in favor of the wards of the Gift of Life foundation, whose guests were Vladimir Pozner, Evgeny Mironov, Tatyana Lazareva, Mikhail Shats and others. And about a month ago, Chulpan and Dina opened the 11th in the Moscow art gallery of Zurab Tsereteli.
The Gift of Life Foundation helps pay for expensive tests and medications for children, organize treatment abroad for those who cannot be helped in Russia, purchase medical equipment for Russian clinics, organize volunteering in hospitals, provide psychological assistance to patients - and this is not even a complete list of things to do. that the organization is involved in.
Chulpan herself in an interview says that she does not agree with the opinion that one does not need to speak out loud about one’s good deeds: according to the actress, by loudly declaring her own charitable activities, she encourages others to follow her example.
We cannot but agree with the words of the star, because her activities truly inspire good deeds.
The editors of the site sincerely congratulate Chulpan Khamatova, Natalia Vodianova and all the other women who devote themselves to making someone’s life a little better on today’s holiday. Thanks for what you do!
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Photo Anna Temerina/website
