One must dream boldly!

Den’s readers and partners are unique. Nearly every day they amaze the editorial staff with their thoughts, interesting ideas, touching letters, and their creative work: like, for example, Hanna Hryhorovych from a city of Ukrainka in Kyiv oblast. The woman not only asked the mayor of the city to subscribe the newspaper for the local libraries, but also sent a genuine testimony of her love to the newspaper – embroidered map of Den’s projects that was published in the New Year’s issue of the newspaper.

In December of 2012 our friends and partners set a unique precedent for Ukrainian media market – the readers decided to support the newspaper that they subscribe and read by founding a special fund with the like-minded people. For the staff of the newspaper it is a great feeling to have such feedback. It is important to see that the readers not only vote with their wallet for what you do, in what you put your strength and effort, but that they are also willing to be personally involved in the process of implementing various projects, support more than is expected of them, and, if possible, lend their shoulder as well.

Thus, Den’s editorial office accepted the invitation to the first meeting of the Foundation – Spring Den, which took place on May 17 in its “home” – the historic courtyard on Andriivsky Uzviz.

“I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in supporting our work and personally Mykola Hrytsenko for his commitment, because this was the idea that hovered in the air and last year Iryna Kliuchkovska expressed it when she said: ‘Newspaper Den has been doing a lot for the society for 16 years now, it’s high time the society did something for the newspaper.’ But of course, there is a great way to go from the desires and ideas to willingness for doing something to make it real. That’s why I wish much success to the Foundation and believe that this will be a very good example for many others.

“It’s another proof of that if you want something really bad, it will come true for sure. If we were not sincere in our desire to make it happen, nobody would have believed us, nobody would have supported us and gave us money. This is the conviction that goes on to others. Of course, the newspaper cannot publish books and organize photo exhibitions solely on its own funds,” said Den’s Editor-in-Chief Larysa Ivshyna.

“The newspaper was launched in 1996. We then said that we made a newspaper for civil society, and there were people who said – no, you opened to help Marchuk become the president. To that we responded: ‘Yes, that would be nice. But still we have to establish civil society in our country,’” Den’s editor-in-chief spoke about the Foundation of the publication, that inspired its supporters to unprecedented step in the history of Ukrainian mass media. “After the dramatic elections in 1999, when the chance that could give changes wasn’t used, I came to the editorial office, where the half of the staff was gone, and told the team: we will now work with the social issues. The staff told me that I didn’t know what I was saying, that the newspaper did not have any prospects, and there was no certainty as to what would happen to me next, and that I was having some maniac ideas, Napoleon’s plans to engage in public activity. But that’s the point – we have to set the most important tasks before ourselves. When everything is bad, there is no money and there is nothing to do, you have to set the bar really high. In 1999 a new phase in the development of the newspaper began with new projects, books, new team of authors, to whom I’m greatly grateful.”

“Our newspaper would have had to be published in millions of copies. I can’t believe that there are so few intelligent people in Ukraine. I think that, first, we haven’t been able to reach all the smart people, second, not all the smart people are quick off the mark,” Ms. Ivshyna said jokingly to Mykola Hrytsenko, who opened the meeting with a phrase: “Den is a newspaper for smart people.”

The Foundation, without any jokes, decided to lend their shoulder in this initiative and help the newspaper to reach out to every smart Ukrainian and finally weave that living “network of networks” of civil society, for the sake of which Den has been working 16 years already.

Spring Den, as chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation in Support of the Newspaper Den’s Initiatives Volodymyr Panchenko said half jokingly, is the first approach to the bar. And the fact that it all happened very easily and smoothly gives certainty that the Foundation will soon be able to “build muscles” on a strong spine that created the charitable organization.

THE STORY OF VARVARA

Regular readers of Den’s website and followers of its page on Facebook have obviously been looking to read this part about Spring Den the most since in our photo report we announced that “people who came to the meeting witnessed a real Hollywood story unfold before their eyes that happened during the lottery drawing with the main prize being the ticket for a trip to Paris.” We hope that you are still as interested, maybe even more so, to find out what happened there.

From the previous report on our website you know already that Spring Den made one very dear person happy that night. And the story really unfolded like in a Hollywood film.

When it was the time to raffle the prize of airplane tickets to Paris, the host of the night and the general sponsor of the auction Tetiana Yurkova together with her assistant brought in a large transparent aquarium. Everyone who came to the meeting put their business card in the beginning of the night. Therefore, on the bottom of the aquarium there were many goldfish resting that could bring luck to their owner. The youngest guest of the night – girl named Varvara was asked to draw one card from the bowl. Varia Vasylieva, student of a fourth form, became the first Ukrainian participant of the International Competition Bravo and won in her age group – among the youngest participants (10 years old and younger). But her way to get into the music competition was not easy. Myronivsky Khliboproduct Company, to whom Den appealed with a request for financial assistance, supported the young violin player. Young star amazed the audience at Spring Den performing Etude No. 25 by Jacques Fereol Mazas and then she also played an encore and performed a fragment of the third part of the Concerto No. 9 by Luciano Berio. The girl bravely put her hand in the bowl and pulled a lucky business card from the small pile assembled there. “Yevhen Marchuk,” Varvara read timidly. The guests of the night applauded. And Yevhen Marchuk, although baffled by this unexpected smile of “Fortune,” was not taken aback: “I give my prize to this talented young girl.” The guests once again gave a loud round of applause. “A truly Hollywood story. Lucky hand on the one side and a kind soul on the other,” Den’s editor-in-chief noted with a smile.

Perhaps, if you looked in Varvara’s eyes at that moment you could see the top of the Eiffel Tower. And her mother burst into tears. “Yesterday Varia was getting ready for an exam (the girl passed the State Final Attestation in Ukrainian the same day Spring Den was held) and one of the suggested topics for an essay was ‘How do you want to spend your summer holidays?’ Late at night she came to me and asked ‘Mom, may I write that I want to go to Paris? I know that this won’t happen but it’s just my dream. May I write about it?’ Of course I told her she could write what she wanted,” Varvara’s mother explained her emotional reaction.

One must dream boldly!