Mercy Terminal
Irina Molchanova, MK in St. Petersburg
The financial crisis has crippled St. Petersburg charity. All these years, charitable foundations have been living on the funds of private companies, which today are forced to cut many social projects. Business is not up to poor old people, sick children and the disabled. That is why in St. Petersburg they are now reviving the tradition of the "church circle", when money for God-pleasing deeds is collected from the world by a thread. Only the mug has now been replaced by payment terminals.
Terminals are installed at all metro stations, in large shopping malls, in bookstores, at gas stations. The idea is simple: everyone uses terminals, pays for phone and utilities, another one will simply be added to the usual options – charity. Anyone can throw a hundred rubles on the account.
– Charity is over, mercy has come, – says Elena Gracheva, an employee of the AdVita Foundation, which helps adults and children suffering from cancer. – Our foundation has never had major sponsors, we literally collect donations for a penny, and astronomical money is required, since cancer treatment is very expensive. It costs one hundred thousand rubles to deliver a transplant alone, which means we need to find 10 thousand people who will give 10 rubles each.
Unicassa payment terminals have been operating for just over a month. No commission is charged from donors. This is a fundamental point. Volunteers tried at one time to organize a fundraiser via SMS, but mobile providers were so brazen that they demanded 50 percent commission.
The total amount of private donations collected through the terminals in November amounted to 227 thousand rubles. The most common payments are 50 and 100 rubles.
– Now our support is those people who have no money, – says Elena Gracheva.
By the way, if one of the donors is afraid that his contribution will not reach the addressee, he can track the fate of his money on the foundation's website - here is a full report on the expenditure of funds, as well as the phone numbers of parents of children with cancer. You can call these people and ask if the money has reached them.
Instruction manual
To make a payment, select "Other services" in the main menu, then "Charity payments", and then the name of the charity organization. A donation can be sent to a specific patient, for this you need to specify his first and last name. Otherwise, the money will be transferred to the general fund for the treatment of all patients.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru18.12.2008