The tenth charity tournament “Football Giving Hope” in St. Petersburg raised 210,000 rubles to support children with cancer, specifically those under the care of the “svet.deti” (light.children) foundation. The funds will be used to purchase essential medication for a young boy battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Thirteen amateur teams, eight men’s and five women’s, from St. Petersburg and Veliky Novgorod, participated in the tournament held in “Dubki” Park of Culture and Recreation. The winners, NPK “Group” from Nizhny Novgorod and FC “Zvezda” from St. Petersburg, engaged in friendly matches with the youth team of FC “Dynamo-2” (St. Petersburg).
Lyudmila Gavrilova, the main initiator and organizer, emphasized the importance of supporting children facing difficult health challenges. She highlighted that the tournament is a personal initiative carried out with the help of dedicated volunteers. The event brought together teams, volunteers, and partners to make a positive impact on the lives of children battling cancer.
The funds raised will specifically go towards purchasing a necessary medicine for Nikita Kamyshov from Lugansk, a ward of the “svet.deti” foundation who is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nikita experienced an anaphylactic reaction to the primary drug, necessitating an alternative medication that is not registered in the Russian Federation and therefore not available free of charge.
The “svet.deti” foundation offers comprehensive support to young patients in pediatric oncology departments of St. Petersburg clinics during all stages of treatment. Since 2008, the foundation has assisted over 1,500 children, adolescents, and young adults up to 21 years old from across Russia and the CIS countries who seek treatment in St. Petersburg. In 2024 alone, the foundation provided assistance to 525 children, totaling 98.5 million rubles. The foundation runs several programs, including targeted assistance, family support, assistance to medical institutions, development of a bone marrow donor registry, and psychological assistance.