Published on: 2026-08-28
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On the eve of Knowledge Day, the “Children Instead of Flowers” campaign has been held for the 12th consecutive year. Schoolchildren and their parents agree to give the teacher a single bouquet from the entire class, and the saved funds are donated to charitable foundations. This approach allows the tradition to be turned into a good deed and helps children feel from an early age how their contribution can aid those who need it most.
“I cannot imagine the life of a mother with a seriously ill child. I am afraid, I feel that I would not cope. But I also cannot ignore the lives of mothers and fathers whose child’s illness has deprived them of the ability to work, relax with friends, and look to the future with curiosity. We can participate in the campaign, we can tell stories about heroic parents. And when there are many of us, we can do the most important thing — restore tired mothers’ faith in kindness, teachers’ faith in the significance of their work, and give children an important knowledge: at school, the main thing is not grades, but people,” says Nyuta Federmesser, director and founder of the charitable hospice aid foundation.
How the tradition was born
Share “Children Instead of Flowers” It appeared in 2014 thanks to a teacher at one of Moscow’s lyceums: she suggested collecting one common bouquet for the teacher instead of many bouquets, and directing the saved money to charity. The idea took root — today the event is taking place for the 12th time, and a new tradition has formed in thousands of schools across Russia. This year, more than 470 cities are participating, and six thousand people registered even before the official start of the event.
With the funds raised, the charitable foundation for hospice assistance “Vera” and the children’s hospice “House with a Lighthouse” will purchase medical equipment, therapeutic nutrition, and everything that helps children with serious illnesses in their daily lives. In addition, this money will be used to pay for the work of specialists who support families throughout the year: nurses, coordinators, psychologists, and lawyers.
To join the campaign, you need to register on on the website. Then the participants receive attributes: stickers, ribbon for the collective bouquet, a card, a thank you note for the teacher, and a certificate for the class. After that, each participant or the entire class makes a donation in any amount. In the personal account, the children track how much money the class has raised, and on the website, they see how the collective contribution of thousands of people turns into real help. For example, one can find out what the donations were used for last year by the link.
Which funds joined this year
This year, dozens of charitable organizations joined the initiative of the charity fund for hospice aid “Vera” and the children’s hospice “House with a Lighthouse”, each of which will direct the collected funds to a specific area.
Fund “AiF. A Kind Heart” organizes the ‘Children and Flowers’ campaign and assists families with seriously ill children from all regions of Russia. Materials for a kindness lesson, posters, and stickers are prepared for the classes, and after participants make a voluntary donation, they are awarded certificates and a letter of appreciation.
Konstantin Khabensky Charity Foundation calls its campaign “Lessons of Kindness.” The funds raised go to help children and young adults with brain tumors — covering diagnostics, treatment, medications, and rehabilitation. Since 2014, 2,736 classes have joined this initiative, thanks to which 220 beneficiaries have received the necessary medical support.
Interregional Charitable Public Organization “He needs you” is conducting a campaign called “Nannies Instead of Flowers.” The funds raised go towards paying nannies for orphaned children who end up in hospitals. Last year, 550 people from various cities supported the campaign, collectively raising more than 400 thousand rubles.
Among other participants in the event are foundations that help children with serious illnesses. The foundation “Gift of Life” directs donations to the treatment of children with oncological and hematological diseases, the fund “Life Is a Miracle” supports guys with liver diseases, and the fund “Pravmir” helps with the treatment and recovery of children.
A separate direction is assistance to orphaned children and support for family placement. Charitable foundation “Find a Family” supports foster children with difficult diagnoses. Thanks to sessions with neuropsychologists and speech therapists, they strive to master the school curriculum.
Russian charitable organization “SOS Children’s Villages” works on preventing social orphanhood.
Center for Therapeutic Pedagogy with the collected funds prepares children with developmental disorders for school: last year, thanks to donations, 61 children received assistance. The fund “Gulf Stream” develops inclusive projects for people with disabilities.
You can learn about the activities of other foundations helping children on the charitable service on the mos.ru portal in the category “Children”.
How families and schools participate in the campaign
For many Moscow families and classes, the “Children Instead of Flowers” campaign has become a cherished tradition that is repeated year after year.
Alexandra Nelidova, a mother of three children, joined the initiative when her son just started school. Since then, the family has participated in the campaign annually — in September, the boy will already be in eighth grade. For the first grade, Alexandra sent the children to the school line-up with a bouquet to have beautiful photos reminding of the important day, but the family still transferred funds to the foundation.
“Our principle is simple: we buy one rose for each child, and transfer the rest of the money that was planned to be spent on the bouquet to the fund. After the assembly, children give their flowers to the teacher, and gradually a beautiful collective bouquet forms in the teacher’s hands. The teacher sticks a special sticker on the clothing or backpack of each participant in the campaign,” says Alexandra Nelidova.
At home, she explains to the children the meaning of the event and tells them why it is important to participate in good deeds, while in class the value of the act is once again emphasized by the teacher. Alexandra notes: it is important from childhood to show how a holiday can be truly special if you share joy with those who need help right now. Thus, one rose becomes much more than just a flower.
At a school near Moscow, where Maria Istomina’s daughter studies—Maria being an employee of the
The homeroom teacher of the 7th “M” class, Oksana Molokanova, learned about the initiative from a conversation with a colleague. After her class joined the campaign for the first time, other teachers in the school became interested in the idea — now, every year, the number of like-minded educators grows. According to her, parents of the students are immediately convinced by a simple argument: they can donate exactly the amount they planned to spend on a bouquet and then see that this money was used to buy medicine for children or pay for an urgent operation.
Every September 1, Oksana Molokanova talks with her class about whom and how they helped on that day. Some students formally ask how much money was transferred this time and the name of the child for whom they bought medicine, while others enjoy the bright flag and the beautiful “I help” sticker.
How else can you help
You can support the work of charitable foundations with the help of charitable service on the mos.ru portal. It unites over 100 verified non-profit organizations. To make a donation, you need to select a support program on the service page and specify the amount to transfer. You can direct the donation to the beneficiaries of one, several, or immediately all programs in the category — in this case, the amount will be distributed among all organizations.
The work and functional development of the charitable service on the mos.ru portal are supervised by the city Department of Information Technology and Committee on Public Relations and Youth Policy with the support of the Civic Chamber of Moscow.
The provision of socially significant services in electronic form and the development of e-government infrastructure correspond to the objectives of the national project “Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State” and the Moscow regional project “Digital Public Administration.” More details about Russia’s national projects and the capital’s contribution can be found at special page.
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