A hope chest, by its dictionary definition, is a box in which unmarried women store things they will need once they get married. George Steiner isn't an unmarried woman but he does have a really big hope chest with a lot of good inside for orphans in Russia and Africa.

Steiner is the founder of Children's Hope Chest. He had been working with the International Bible Society and in 1993 visited a Russian orphanage for the first time. In 1995, Children's Hope Chest began operating summer camps for orphans in Russia. In 1998, it opened... more

Russia was the birthplace of artists like Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich and Vasili Vereshchagin. Now it's time to see what great Russian artists are living in your household.

Lisa Finneran, mother of twins adopted from Arkhangelsk and the driving force behind the philanthropic effort ArkAngels, has announced a Russian adoption art contest to benefit the children still living in Russia's orphanages. I've told you about ArkAngels... more

Rose Alaimo has only been in Russia a few days, but her experience is already proving an eye-opener.

You might remember that, back in late May, I introduced you to a Cornell University veterinary student who decided to go to Russia for what some people call a "volunteer vacation". Rose is doing a lot of volunteering, but she clearly isn't getting a lot of time for rest. And it doesn't seem to bother her one bit.

Rose arrived in Yaroslavl on July 23... more

Where is it? Altai Krai, or territory, is located in Siberia, to the west of Krasnoyarsk. It is bordered by Kazahkstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and is separate from the Altai Republic. It is in the Novosibirsk time zone, which is three hours ahead of Moscow. You can find the current local time here.

What's the biggest city? Barnaul, which has... more

I don’t often get the time to go back to posts I have already published. But the folks at Rotary International's OrphanAct charity have been keeping me posted on their outreach in Russia and, I am happy to report, it is continuing quite nicely.

You might remember that, back in February, I wrote about OrphanAct, which has been organized by a Rotary chapter in Hawaii to aid children in orphanages in Siberia and the Russian Far East. It was my first post in the philanthropy category, and I have been trying to honor its spirit every... more

I passed through Lenin Square often when I was in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 2005. I'd cast a quick eye on the resolute statue of the Communist revolutionary on the way to the business center I used to send e-mails home during my two adoption trips.

But this past Saturday, June 23, Lenin Square got much more than a passing glance. Washington, D.C.-based charity Kidsave International used it as the kick-off point for a march involving 200 children from orphanages on Sakhalin... more

There was an interesting announcement this morning on the Web site of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Not the one we want to see on accreditation, but one key to the welfare of children in Russia just the same: Russia has given the green light to the building of a fifth SOS Children's Village. The village, which will... more

Rose Alaimo doesn't know any Russian orphans. She's never been to a Russian orphanage, or even to Russia itself. But all that is going to change this summer--if Rose gets our help. This young woman from Dallas, Pa. wants to spend three weeks volunteering at a Russian orphanage. But she needs to raise money for travel and other expenses. Not much, $1,800, but that's enough to stretch the budget of somebody who's in grad school studying to be a veterinarian.

That was one of the first things to surprise me about Rose, when... more

One week ago today, Brenda and Robert Matthey heard their fate. They merited much more jail time than they got, but it was the best that the our legal system could devise. Now it is time to think about the legacy of the Russian child that they did not care for.

Brenda and Robert Matthey are a couple from southern New Jersey who adopted three boys from Russia in December 1999. Less than one year later, the oldest of the three boys, Viktor,... more

Before you settle in to read this post, check if you have a dollar in your pocket. That's where dollar bills hang out because, by themselves, they can't do much. You can't get a cup of coffee for a dollar in most places; you certainly can't buy lunch or a bed or a bathroom.

Or can you?

Lisa Finneran and her husband Mike are just back from visiting 12 Russian orphanages and they think $1 can go a long way. Especially if they get one million of them.

If you think those names sound familiar, you're right. I wrote about the Finneran's... more