Ilsur Metshin awarded laureates of the Volunteer of the Year-2017

(KZN.RU, December 5, Mikhail Chentsov). Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, awarded the laureates of the VII prize “Volunteer of the Year”. The solemn event was held in the Kazan City Hall. It is timed to the Day of Volunteer, which is celebrated on December 5 this year by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The results of the volunteers’ team for the year were summed up and a festive concert was organized.

In 2017, volunteers helped organize 64 events at the international and all-Russian level. More than 2 thousand volunteers took part in these events and worked over 50 thousand volunteer hours in total.

In his speech, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, noted the invaluable contribution of volunteers to the city’s life. He thanked the volunteers on behalf of Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, and himself and noted that today a truly historic event is taking place in the City Hall. “For the first time, we are celebrating a volunteer day all over the country. Thanks to Vladimir Putin, our president, who highly praised your efforts”, said the Mayor.

Ilsur Metshin remembered how a volunteer sports movement began in the city. According to him, more than 50 thousand applications were submitted for the Universiade-2013 from all continents of the world from those wishing to become a volunteer. And only 20 thousand were lucky enough to become them. “The youngest participant was 14 years old, the oldest was 83. This shows a range of your opportunities, your soul, and your talent”, he said.

“I could not even think how much our resident will change while thinking about what city will become after the Universiade, what it will bring into our lives, and how we will change the infrastructure. Today, here is a volunteer movement in the hall, which has become the best in Russia. We have been proud so many times when other people told us that the volunteers of Kazan and Tatarstan are the best, and that's really true”, said the head of the city.

The presentation of prizes for traditional nominations was held during the ceremony. The winners were Renata Zinnatullina (“Always ready!"”, Alexey Zhiganov (“Record of the Year”), Vladislav Koval’ (“Discovery of the Year”), Nazira Akhmatgaleeva (“Silver Volunteer of the Year”), Anastasia Elchueva (“Team Leader of the Year” ), Gulnaz Yusupova (“People Choice Award”), Damir Rakhmatullin (“Volunteer of the Year”). At the same time, more than 30 nominees for the ceremony are representatives of the youth movement “Kazan volunteers”. They most clearly showed themselves in 2017, took part in the largest number of events, and worked a record number of volunteer hours.

Azat Kadyrov, the general director of the ANO “Directorate of Sports and Social Projects”, also congratulated the volunteers from the main stage. “Every word of gratitude for your enthusiasm, for your openness, for your desire to always be around and be assistants. No matter where we are or with whom we communicate, all sportsmen and official guests say “how wonderful volunteers you have, they always meet us with a smile, always open to dialogue”, he noted.

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The ceremony “Volunteer of the Year” is a prize for volunteers, conducted by the ANO “Directorate of Sports and Social Projects” since 2010. The purpose of the event is to summarize the activities of the volunteer team for the year, to thank and note the activists of the movement, to motivate newcomers, and to popularize and stimulate the development of event volunteering in Kazan and the RT.