OREANDA-NEWS. TGC-1, a subsidiary of Gazprom Energoholding, is the largest electricity and heat producer in northwestern Russia. Being a backbone enterprise for a number of population centers and providing optimal living conditions for nearly eight million people, the company is committed to supporting regional social assistance programs. Its priorities include targeted medical aid for children and the elderly, assistance for funds specializing in social adaptation of children with disabilities and patronage of low-income families, as well as promotion of science and education.

TGC-1 made it a good tradition to fulfill the dreams of children from orphanages, boarding schools and disadvantaged families on the New Year’s Eve.

Children from Karelia and Murmansk, Petrozavodsk and Saint Petersburg write letters to the Grandfather Frost of the energy industry. All the letters are delivered to the New Year Tree of Wishes at the annual Christmas Fair in Saint Petersburg, and, of course, the wishes come true.

This year’s presents of TGC-1 included, inter alia, an ice court in the Gubernatorsky Park in the capital city of Karelia, toys and sports equipment for children in Kandalaksha and the settlements of Zelenoborsky and Rayakosky of the Murmansk Region. Besides, the company supplied the specialized infant orphanage in Petrozavodsk with refrigerators to store medicines.

Pupils of the Yukki boarding school for hearing-impaired children in Saint Petersburg asked the Grandfather Frost not only to present sports equipment for PE classes and sports uniforms for the football team, but also to fulfill their cherished dream – to go on the ice together with real athletes. In the photo: Yury Marakin, Deputy Director General for Corporate Security of TGC-1, holding a letter from the boarding school.

Do you have a dream? We can fulfill it! In Saint Petersburg, energy workers arranged a real ice festival for children, in the Tavrichesky Sad versatile entertainment center, where professional hockey players and figure skaters also took part.

The Yukki boarding school has 100 children with disabilities, aged from 10 to 18 years. Almost all of them are involved in sports activities and represent the Leningrad Region at the countrywide Spartakiada Games among handicapped children. Children enjoy playing football, tennis, volleyball, but they have never visited a skating rink before.

Anastasiya Vasilyeva (right), the bronze medalist of Saint Petersburg in single skating, participant of national and international competitions, master of sports and coach of the Yunior youth sports school, committed herself to help with fulfilling the young athletes’ dreams.

She and her trainees did their performances in front of the children. Natasha Kovaleva performed in this ice show. Though she is among the youngest trainees of Anastasiya, she has already become a junior sportswoman and a winner of the city and regional competitions.

Her performance was followed by Masha Pakhomova – the winner of the Novgorod Championship. The audience liked her fiery dance, especially since she did it flawlessly.

Closing the show was Masha Titova, who so far hadn’t earned any high titles, but she had a bright future.

After the show the children could not just sit on a bench, so they rushed to the ice, accompanied by Anastasiya Vasilyeva and her trainees, as well as professional hockey players from the SKA-Silver Lions club of the Youth Hockey League and the coaches of the namesake youth hockey school.

Anastasiya as an experienced coach immediately took the initiative and started a lesson for the girls. How to keep the balance and not to fall down on the slippery ice? The pupils of the Yukki school confessed that it was the number one question at the figure skating master class.

Some simple exercises helped to overcome the fear of falling and to learn the body control.

By the end of the master class, the young figure skaters managed to make their first step sequences, pirouettes and spins.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the rink the boys were busy communicating with the players of the SKA-Silver Lions team.

First, the hockey players had to teach the newcomers how to feel safe on the ice.

Not everyone managed to keep the balance.

Gradually, all the boys gained confidence on the ice, and then the real hockey master class started.

It wasn’t so easy to slide the puck into the cage. Each boy had a chance to try himself as both an attacker and a goaltender.

Having split into two teams, the Silver Lions hockeyists and the pupils of the Yukki school played a whole period. It was everyone’s victory. And the wish came true!

At the end of the ice festival, the TGC-1 workers provided a gift for all the pupils of the boarding school – a set of equipment to develop sporting talents.

The children left the rink satisfied and happy. They liked the ‘live’ performance of the sportsmen very much: one thing is to watch it on TV and quite another – to feel the genuine hot emotions on the cold ice.