"The generous acts of these Mainers are truly inspirational and I am honored to present these awards to them on behalf of the Russian Embassy," Senator Collins said. "It is incredible to think that these Mainers followed their hearts and traveled to Russia and began raising funds for an orphanage there after seeing just one photograph. Five years later their efforts are still going strong. To this day Greg, Jim, Maureen, and Mary send items to improve conditions at an orphanage half a world away."
In 1999, these Mainers saw a picture of a little girl in Russia and were moved to help her. They began investigating and discovered that she lived in a special orphanage for deaf children in Novozbykov, Russia. They decided to help this girl by helping the entire orphanage. After visiting Russia to determine the needs of the orphanage, the group began raising funds. These funds have been used to provide furnishings for the orphanage as well tools to improve conditions at the school, such as hearing aids and educational materials.
The award from the Russian Embassy is their way of thanking these Mainers for their efforts to improve this school. The awards were accompanied by a letter from the Embassy of the Russian Federation.
Following is an excerpt from the letter:
"Please allow me to congratulate you on your being honored for charitable works at a Russian school for hearing impaired children. You are honored in recognition of your significant contribution to supporting dozens of children in a Novozbykov school and your efforts to expand humanitarian relations between our countries in general … It is my distinct pleasure to express to you my deepest gratitude for your commitment to the generous cause of helping disabled children."
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