Gennady Timchenko's Ladoga foundation for the elders

by polomarsoo | June 8, 2011 at 05:35 am

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Finnish businessman Gennady Timchenko has not forgotten his Russian roots. In 2010, the energy magnate founded Ladoga, a charitable foundation aimed to support Russian's older generation.

Poverty amongst Russian retirees has indeed become a major social challenge and despite the social difficulties the elders face in Russia, charitable foundations for the elders are rare in the country.

Gennady Timchenko's foundation for the elders

The Ladoga foundation, which operates in Russia, is specifically focused on improving the living conditions and well being of elderly people in the country by making their lives more varied and interesting.

Named after Europe's largest lake (Ladoga), Ladoga finances projects to develop cultural, social and educational activities available for the elderly. Gennady Timchenko’s foundation is active in such regions as the Arkhangelsk Region, the Leningrad Region, the Republic of Karelia, and Saint Petersburg and finances projects through its program called “The Next step.

The Older generation’s activity development program”. This program supports both pilot projects (which consist in designing a new or adjusting an existing service for the elderly) and expert projects (which consist in developing currently available activities and providing relevant support to the older generation).

The Ladoga foundation has recently launched a competition within the framework of its "Next Step" program; open to all non-for-profit organizations in Russia with concrete ideas and projects that could make a significant contribution in the lives of the country's elderly.

The winner of the competition will be rewarded with 3,7 million rubbles to finance its project. Gennady Timchenko, a Finnish energy trader, is renowned for philanthropy.

Along with his wife, he also founded in 2008 the Neva Foundation, a Geneva based organization established to reinforce the ties between Russia and Switerland via cultural exchange, medical research as well as humanitarian assistance projects.