Large families. “You can’t have too many good deeds”: who is helped by the “Multi-Mom” project Dear parents of many children, if you find yourself in a difficult life situation and you need help, contact us urgently

Four years ago, a project appeared in Russia that changed the lives and way of thinking of several thousand large families in various regions of the country. At the same time, a new word appeared - “Multi-Mom” in relation to women raising three or more children.

Today “MnogoMama” is a center that helps 52 thousand large families throughout Russia, and a whole movement with its own philosophy and civic position. President of the ANO CPMS “MnogoMama”, Alina Kontareva, told Philanthropist about the project and shared with readers advice for large families.

Alina Kontareva

— Alina, how did the idea come about to gather a large number of mothers from different parts of the country on one virtual (and real) platform?

— First, the word appeared, the name itself — “Multi-Mom.” An incomprehensible word form that did not appear either in the dictionary or on the Internet at that time, but since by that time I myself was already a mother of many children and was “in the know” about the problems of large families, the word form was quickly transformed into a domain name, and a little later - into a website , where I posted information about benefits, subsidies, and raised topics that are most often of interest to large families. At the same time, I was implementing a large photo project “Large families - the future of Russia.” I wanted to use photographs to change the prevailing idea of ​​large families, to show how happy, friendly and beautiful they are. I conducted a large number of photo sessions, met new women, men, children and unwittingly became a witness to acute situations, unfortunately common in large families. Having shot more than eighty photo stories, I realized that most of my heroes require not only moral support, but also very real, tangible social and material help. So in September 2014, the Center for Assistance to Large Families “MnogoMama” appeared.

— How exactly does “Mnogomama” support families, and who can count on the center’s help?

Our mission is, first of all, to popularize family values, the institution of family and motherhood in our country, a return to the traditions of the cult of family and the education of a morally and spiritually healthy younger generation. We want to revive the tradition of large families and a favorable attitude towards large families in Russia, to create decent living conditions for large families, thus stimulating the movement of society towards conscious parenthood.

Since all the employees of “Mnogomama” are parents of many children, we show by our own example that children not only do not interfere with success in career, business and personal growth, but, on the contrary, bring boundless happiness to the lives of their parents and inspire them to great deeds.

We support families with children throughout Russia. Our mothers raise from 3 to 16 children. There are families with adopted children, and there are those who raise children with special needs and disabled children. Support within the project can be very different, the main task is to help parents not “fall out of life” and not get bogged down in the endless solution of numerous problems associated with having many children. Through us you can receive the most up-to-date information about social programs and bills, psychological and legal support, and all kinds of consultations; thanks to our friendship and partnership with a huge number of entertainment and educational organizations, we help provide our wards with leisure, give them the opportunity to engage in self-education, attend various seminars, participate in competitions, receive social assistance, realize their creative ambitions and, most importantly, receive financial assistance, be able to get back on your feet, adapt and survive difficult times.

— Today you have a colossal amount of work: under the care of the MnogoMama center there are more than 52 thousand large families throughout Russia, who are helped in 20 branches of the country. What difficulties do people come with? Does each region have its own request to the “MnogoMama” Center or do all families with a large number of children have the same “troubles”?

Almost all large families have similar problems: what and how to feed, what to wear, how to entertain big company and other “difficulties of life.” Geography does not play a special role; each specific family has its own difficulties. One of the most popular programs among our clients is targeted assistance families in difficult life situations. Our volunteers assess the situation on the spot and help exactly what the family urgently needs. At the same time, we do not use methods of information publicity, which many people who find themselves in difficult situations are so afraid of. We try to help quietly. For sponsors and benefactors, only a photo report of the work done to improve the family's situation is provided.

— You say “our volunteers.” Is it true that all of your employees are pro bono volunteers, including you?

- Is it true. Our team is made up of ordinary parents with many children, mothers and fathers. We all work voluntarily or with the support of philanthropists. Neither the manager nor the volunteers receive any salary.

— It turns out that people who are “in the know” about living with many children are easy to attract to the project. Can the same be said about donors? Is it easy to involve them in helping the project?

— When it all started, the first year of the center’s operation, it was incredibly difficult and financially costly. “MnogoMama” worked with the full support of Kontra Studio, my photographic company, but gradually a team of volunteers was formed - exactly the same parents with many children, not indifferent to the misfortune of others, who do tremendous work every day and almost every minute. Behind every new benefactor, organization helping the MnogoMama Center, there is a huge amount of work, many hours of calls and kilometers of correspondence. Basically, we ourselves are looking for organizations ready to help, partners, philanthropists for the holidays, and discussing the conditions. Some of the wards need help with clothes, shoes, food, others need access to theaters, museums, and entertainment venues. Sometimes you need help with delivery, sometimes you need to help at a party, take photos, report to philanthropists, coordinate the work of volunteers. Thanks to the personal example of our employees, new helpers and new benefactors are found. We can do everything: unload a truck with watermelons, and organize a reception for the president, but as a public organization, we cannot promote our programs with public money, which is allocated for social programs for large families. However, every day the number of our wards is growing, the needs dictated by the market are increasing, for effective and timely assistance to large families we need funds, new directions of the ManyMama Center also require funding. In addition, we know very well where to best direct and how to distribute government support, how to make it work and not impersonal, and we really look forward to cooperation with the government.

— Are there many examples of NGOs that work with you to help large families? Do you have any competitors?

— There is no need to talk about competition, since there are never too many good deeds.

We have a huge number of families in our country who need help, so we can talk about the need for competition and the creation of as many centers to help people as possible. So we are looking for competitors, or, better said, comrades-in-arms to solve common problems.

— In general, it is customary for us to complain about the attitude of the state towards large families, they say, there are no conditions, no support, but what are things like in other countries? And what comparative assessment can we give to our social policy in the area of ​​supporting large families?

— Similar programs are implemented in many, but not all European countries with developed and large-scale family policies, for example, in France, Sweden, Slovenia. There, for large families with incomes below the subsistence level, there is a system of additional benefits, for example, to pay for housing and children preschool institutions. Large families enjoy various tax benefits, and each newborn reduces the tax base. In France, about 45% of all payments go to large families. Also in some countries there is a coupon subsidy system: members of large families are given special food coupons. Of course, European programs differ significantly from the state aid we are used to. During my internship in Germany, I was surprised to learn that there is simply no traditional support, as we understand it, for large families in Germany. There is no maternal capital as a means of stimulating fertility. There, no one singles out families with many children, and they, as a rule, do not have priority over other families, but large families can take advantage of benefits in the tax system. Thanks to our representative in Berlin, we saw the other side of large families and realized that our state support and its implementation, although not ideal, are significant in comparison with the support of large families in Germany. And in the USA, the country's social policy is based on the principle that the main responsibility for a person's well-being lies, first of all, with him.

The state takes upon itself to help certain, most vulnerable categories of the population whose income is below a certain level. In Russia there are also preferential conditions. This includes a discount on utility bills and free travel on intracity transport, allocation of land plots (however, it must be said that now this program is not being implemented entirely correctly), free trips to health resorts for children who need it, priority admission to kindergartens and others. For categories such as low-income families and families with disabled children, there are more expanded social programs. Most often they are not known about because they are so busy with children. Naturally, the social programs that the state is currently implementing require improvements. For example, travel benefits in the Moscow region are provided to only one parent. And the second one, it turns out, doesn’t need to travel at all. This is fundamentally wrong, because sometimes two or three stops on the bus, which you can drive through instead of walking, pushing the stroller through the snow, while persuading older children to be faster, greatly save time and nerves, and sometimes the health of mothers and children with many children . First of all, it is necessary to find out the needs of people, conduct surveys about what families with many children need in a particular region. And, of course, to cut at the state level that Gordian knot of the housing issue, which is very acute for large families.

— Let’s move from global problems to global project plans, and maybe even dreams. What awaits “MnogoMom” and those who aspire to them this year? What are some interesting activities and events?

— Each of our projects, each direction is global in its essence, since in one form or another they help people. In 2018, we are planning, in addition to large public holidays, host several major sporting and entertainment events. We also plan to continue the “Kilometers of Good Deeds” motor rally. We have already held it three times and we can say with confidence that this is an important and very necessary event that helps solve pressing problems of the branches of the ANO CPMS “MnogoMama”, provide timely much-needed assistance to families in need, and make friends not only with families but also with cities. Preliminary dates for the following trips have already been determined: in June there will be a run around the Moscow region, and in July “Kilometers of Good Deeds” will be met in sunny Anapa.

Tips for parents

• Work on self-organization. The most important thing in the life of a large family is organization. A clear understanding of problems and needs also allows you to clearly imagine ways to solve them. Try not to bring your life to point zero, when all the money, all the food, diapers or clothes are gone, think about how to solve the problem a little before the deadline.
• Don't be shy to ask for help. If something goes wrong with the first point, an emergency or other problem occurs, do not hesitate to seek help from loved ones, friends, public organizations, or thematic forums. Many are afraid to bring their problems “to the public” or do not believe in free help, which only aggravates the situation, and from scratch: after all, people are happy to share things that their children have grown out of, toys and even food supplies, volunteers and specialists from charitable foundations actively assist in resolving bureaucratic and legal issues, and so on. Feel free to contact us! We will not make your situation widely public, point fingers, or publish photos on social networks without asking, but we will be able to quickly resolve the issue.
• Move. In all directions: both physical and movement towards the goal are necessary. As you know, water does not flow under a lying stone. Just like family well-being does not flow. Don’t “be on maternity leave” in the literal sense. This established phrase alone makes a woman hostage to a stereotype, but maternity leave is something favorable time, when you can master new professions, acquire skills and transform interests and hobbies into a profitable business: from custom knitting to foreign translations. Exercise own development, look for opportunities to earn money while on maternity leave so as not to be separated from your family, sew clothes, do repairs, take care of animals, maintain accounts on social networks, work as nannies - find what you are good at and what you like.

• Optimize your budget. Reach zen - aka balance between expenses and income of your own family. This is difficult, but realistic: analyze your consumption, plan large purchases in advance, exclude what you can, and sometimes even need to do without: quick snacks, snacks and semi-finished products benefit only their manufacturers, and not your health or wallet.

• Try to be useful to other people. Learn not only to take, but also to give. The main motto of the “MnogoMama” center is: “By helping others, you help yourself.” And it really works.

It is often difficult for us to imagine what a family is like with four, five, eight, or even more children. And especially a mother with many children raising children alone. In addition to material costs, mothers of many children, especially those who live without fathers, need incredibly great mental strength, a lot of patience, love, hope and Faith!

In today's life, having many children is a real feat! And not only because it is connected with material well-being, but also because, due to its hardness of heart, large families began to be condemned.

People who condemn large families sincerely believe that in order to have a child, you first need to stand firmly on your own feet, then put at least one child on your feet, and this requires significant funds. However, at the same time, a strange pattern was revealed: the better the material and living conditions, the more often the family is limited to the birth of one child.

Children in large families develop very quickly. It is more difficult for them to grow up spoiled and lazy.They get used to working and helping their mother from childhood, eat and treat your brothers and sisters with love.

We are convinced that we need to do everything in our power to help large families who find themselves in difficult financial and psychological situation. And we try to do this.

How we help

Usually everything happens like this: a mother with many children, who finds herself in a difficult life situation, learns about the Foundation and calls our “crisis” phone. Then our psychologist Elena Nikolaevna goes to the family’s home, talks, takes copies of everyone necessary documents. If the psychologist and the head of the foundation are convinced that help is really needed, we write a story about the family and post it on the website.

From the funds donated through the site, we issue benefits every month, the amount of which is set for each family depending on how difficult the situation is. With this money, parents buy food and other necessary things for their children. Families are under the care of the fund as long as they need help.

A very important part of help is spiritual nourishment.We always invite our ward families to the Church of St. Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene (under whom our Foundation exists).On Saturdays, during the evening service, mothers come to talk with the rector of the temple, Fr. Daniel, where all questions can be asked. Parents and children also receive strengthening in the Sacraments of Confession and Communion. If parents do not have churchgoers, we help find godparents for their children.

More than 100 large families from St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region receive assistance every month.

Contacts and groups on social networks:

All requests for help posted on the site are relevant!!!

Fire survivor family needs help

Our ward Lyudmila’s baby is already four and a half months old. A woman came forward due to a fire she experienced during pregnancy.. Thank God no one was hurt, but the entire apartment burned out, the family lost all their property (furniture, appliances, belongings), all the walls, frames and doors were burned out.

Fortunately, the city provided the family with temporary housing, where Lyudmila and her small child now live. In a burnt-out apartment, help good people who provided assistance, repairs are being made little by little, but much is still to come. Due to a lack of funds, the family has been trying to get their home in order for more than a year now. Lyudmila is helped by her mother, who is raising two minor children ( younger sister and Lyudmila's brother). To earn at least a little money, Lyudmila works part-time while the baby is with his grandmother. The woman is trying to do something on her own to renovate the apartment, since the child’s father does not take any part in the life of his little son, and there are still schoolchildren on his hands ( younger brother and sister).

Any help and response to the request of Lyudmila’s ward is still very relevant. To renovate the kitchen, you need plasterboard (3 meters, since the ceilings are 3 meters), the mortar is falling off, the walls of the old apartment are so faded, and you also need guides, bars for fixing it, and linoleum for the floor.

For furniture, you really need a closet and/or a chest of drawers of any kind in order to put things somewhere for the first time. Any furniture (kitchen or hallway is also relevant for the family of fire victims).

For her little son Bogdan, Lyudmila asked to donate any clothes for the season, as well as rompers/bodysuits from 80 cm. We always need absorbent diapers, diapers No. 5, baby formula "Malyutka1", baby food and porridge according to age.

Hope for help

Family of Maria and Maxim (No. 38) He has been living without a refrigerator for more than two and a half months. There are four small children in our arms: Lenochka (6 years old), Stanislava (2 years old), Ulyana (4 years old) and Seraphim (4 months old).

The family is hoping for a Christmas miracle because, unfortunately, there has been no response to the request to donate a refrigerator for more than a month. The family lives outside the city, but you can bring the refrigerator to our southern point of distribution/reception of aid at the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God on St. Petersburg Highway 68, from where it will be more convenient to transport household appliances family in the Gatchina region.

Our dears, maybe someone has a used refrigerator that works without foreign odors. The family would appreciate this wonderful donation. Our wards live quite modestly in a village in the Leningrad region: Maria sings for a small fee in the church, and Maxim works part-time in construction and repairs in all possible ways that he finds in the village and nearby.

Please help the family with the purchase of medicines!

Dear friends, Nadezhda made an urgent request, eldest daughter mother of many children, Maria, suffering from sarcoma. The family needs to buy painkillers for the mother. It is necessary to buy in advance two weeks in advance, using the old forms; after the New Year, new forms will be introduced, prescriptions for which, most likely, will begin to be issued no earlier than January 13 (after all, the hospital is a regional one). Otherwise, for the next two weeks, Maria risks being left without the necessary painkillers (Durogesic, Tramadol, Pregabalin, Lenuxin, Melaxen, an anesthetic patch and other prescription drugs will be purchased - a total of about 12,000 rubles).

Aerosol Skin-cap is always needed (unfortunately, analogues are not suitable)! The medications taken by a sick woman cause such outbreaks of psoriasis that sometimes the veins in the arms are not visible for the doctor to give an injection, not to mention the painful sensations experienced by Maria. One bottle is not enough for a long time, and it costs about 1,700 rubles.

Please support the family in your care!

Dear friends, support continues to be provided to the family of the widow of Mother Natalya, who is raising her son Kolya, who suffers from cerebral palsy. The young man studies in the 8th grade of a music school with individual tuition. He plays the piano, sings - he has good vocal abilities, he loves to sing in the church choir. Mother is making every effort to get Kolya to join adult life, having a profession that is facilitated by his musical abilities. But the child’s health constantly fails.

In January Kolya will be hospitalized again - he needs to be examined and the dosage determined again medicines for further therapy. The young man suffers from teenage hypertension, which overlaps with the main diagnosis. One evening he began to have a severe headache, they called an ambulance, it turned out to be critically high blood pressure and the child was hospitalized at the Research Institute named after. V. A. Almazova. Doctors explained that the observed hypertension is due to the fact that the blood vessels do not keep up with the growth of body tissues; perhaps, the consequences of an accident experienced in childhood are also superimposed. Regular medication is required to control blood pressure.

We ask for support for Tamara's family

Dear friends, we will be very grateful if you help support Tamara, a mother of seven children, four of whom are minors (all schoolchildren). A woman works three jobs as a cleaner, cleans the office, washes the floors in the theater and in the temple for a small pay. Mom has been working in the theater for a long time without days off, that is, every day she arrives at six in the morning and washes the lobby and the premises of “her” part of the theater for several hours in a row, then hurries to her next job - to wash the office or church.

Despite many years of fatigue and the lack of “weekends” or simply time to relax, Tamara does not complain, being glad that she has a job, knowing from experience how difficult it is for a mother of many children to find a job and how easy it is to be left without vital income if you miss work day even for reasons beyond your control.

Autonomous Non-Profit Organization

Help Center for Large Families "MnogoMama"

OGRN 1147799014263

TIN 7722401903

Gearbox 772201001

Moscow, st. Samokatnaya, 2A building 1,
+7 963 664 5223

The main goals of the MultiMama project:

• Support for large families (targeted assistance, training, cultural development, assistance in organizing and developing a business, socialization of parents and children);
• Revival of the tradition of large families in Russia (creation of a new socially significant image of a large family);
• The formation of large families as the Elite of Russia.

We all come from childhood. From time immemorial, the greatness and strength of our country rested on great strong families, in which many children were raised. In these same families, the great values ​​of our people were absorbed with mother's milk - kindness, generosity, compassion, care for one's neighbor, love for the Motherland. Growing up, such children treat the world like a big family - with respect and love. All the heroes who gave their lives in battles for the Fatherland came from large families.

Today our country especially needs to strengthen spiritual values ​​and form a healthy society. Therefore, we want to revive the tradition of large families in Russia and create decent living conditions for large families. After all, the future of the country lies in our aspiration.

We support more than 75,000 large families throughout Russia, 40,000 of them in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Any of your participation in the project (money, things, products, discounts on goods and services, personal time when joining the ranks of volunteers) is help real people, families with children. Each such help can result in the joy of children, the support of parents, and sometimes even a saved life. But the main thing is that only together we can create the future in which we and our children will live.

Who are we?

WE are as many children as you are, ready to spend a piece of our warmth, knowledge, time, money to make this world a little better. Join our ranks, get the support you need, help those who can’t cope without you!

About the assistance center for large families

Dear mothers of many!

In order to avoid all sorts of unpleasant incidents and mutual accusations of misunderstanding, we bring to your attention step by step instructions for mutual fruitful, and most importantly, correct cooperation with our center.

1.In any request you indicate:

Full name and age of everyone for whom this assistance is provided;

Contact phone number;
- correct and working email;

Certificate number for multiple children;

2. Only after confirmation from the ANO “MnogoMama” and your inclusion in the final list for receiving any type of assistance, you can drive up to the address specified in the letter. This rule must be strictly observed. Those who violate it will be added to the blacklist!

3. At the meeting, you must have with you a certificate of a large family confirming your right to benefits.

4. At the end of any event, each family is sent a photo report by email. If you can’t make a photo report yourself, ask volunteers for help.

5. Any cooperation with our center is bilateral and voluntary, therefore responsibility for possible errors on one side or the other is also reciprocal in nature.

Let's value each other's time, because every lost minute is lost business and benefit!

The Center for Assistance to Large Families "MnogoMama" is always happy to welcome new guests to its website and to its seminars. Large families are the future of Russia, and we are shaping this future right now. We conduct free master classes, seminars, get tickets to concerts, train, help people find work and find themselves, look for sponsors and partners to help families in difficult life situations, and do many other interesting and good things.

Who are we? WE have many children just like you, who spent a piece of our warmth, knowledge, time, money to make this world a little better. Join our ranks, get the support you need, help those who can’t cope without you!

Large families of all countries unite!

Dear parents of many children, if you find yourself in a difficult life situation and you need help, contact us urgently!

SENDSMS TO SHORT NUMBER 3434

You can send SMS from your phone.

Send SMS with the word MULTYMOM space donation AMOUNT to short number 3434

The donation amount must be indicated in numbers - for example, “500”. The allowable donation amount is up to 15,000 rubles.
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