The Tilsit Orphan Education Fund is dedicated to providing orphaned children with educational opportunities so that they may lead rewarding and productive lives by:
*Providing support to the orphanage through donations.*Providing financial support for children when they attend college.*Engaging in a mutual cultural exchange between the children, their caretakers, educational officials, and volunteers.*Bringing volunteers to do short-term work projects.
Tilsit is the former name of this city in Russia. Like many Russian cities, it has a children's home for 180 children ages 3 and up. Many of them have no family; others have families who are unable or unwilling to care for them. Prospects for their futures are bleak. About 15,000 Russian children, ages 16-18, leave the orphanage system each year. According to statistics, 40% of these children become drug users, 40% turn to crime, and 10% commit suicide. Only 1 in 10 orphans becomes a functional member of society. Half of the girls are forced into prostitution. In addition, the Children's Home-School itself is in need of renovations and supplies for the children.
