In this section I have posted (and in the process will add to) most of the basic questions that I have been and are often asked about the Good Deed platform! Each of them could be answered in length and detail, but I have tried to leave the most important information. Despite all attempts to condense the text, there is still quite a lot of it. However, it will give you the information you were looking for! Well, if you have any further questions, feel free to write and I'll answer them and put your question on this list too!

"In which cities is it possible to join your projects?"

    The main part of the projects was created for the residents of Odesa to take part in. At the same time, some of our projects aroused interest among residents of other cities, so the Window of Life appeared in the city of Rozdilna, Sakura Alley is growing in Gribovka... I was contacted by volunteers from Dnipro, Kiev and Lviv, and I advised them how to create this or that project... Also to attract attention to our projects (and support them) I want to implement some projects in Europe! But, for now, Odesa is the main city where the platform projects are based...

"What is a project within a platform?"

    For me, social projects are more just ideas that I come up with and try to implement with my own efforts. And if an idea resonates with the opinion of others, then the people of the city join in and carry it on. For instance, I planted the first alley in the Botanical Garden with my own money. And the rest of the alley was planted thanks to the activity of the city's residents. It was the idea of starting a project with my own money, setting an example, that helped me do so much, as personal contribution is an important driver of trust!

"Why do you need so many different projects?"

    Me? I don't need that many... Even though I've been spending 24 hours a day on the platform for a long time, the mechanism I've come up with doesn't allow me to stop there... Once I publish an idea on social media pages and the citizens support it, I have no choice but to go ahead and make it happen!

    Although it's always a certain amount of work and time, I can't say that I don't enjoy a new conquered peak every time... It's like mountaineering, only the mountains are different and the peaks are insurmountable not once in a while but every day!

    Archimedes said that if he had a fulcrum, he would have turned the Earth upside down! So, by creating each of my projects, I tried to get a fulcrum, thanks to which, I could start solving this or that existing problem...!

"Who are the people involved in the projects?"

    All kinds of people take part in the projects. But more often, those who believe that the world can be changed and made better. Those who try to do it here and now, without expecting others to do it for them! However, the main reason people take part in projects is to trust the platform! It is the trust of thousands of people who have taken part in our projects in Odesa that has become the foundation of the platform. Where does the trust come from? It is usually rooted in 2 main sources. The first is people who have known me for years. And the second is those who see the result, find out about the participation of their acquaintances and want to join in new projects.

"You sometimes write I, but more often WE, why?"

    Well this is very important to me... Yes, I come up with projects and spend a lot of time and money organizing... But! The main reason for the result is the people involved... And, in fact, it's all thanks to them... So WE is the only correct one... Just when I write in first person, I cannot write 'we', that would be a diagnosis. In all other places I don't use 'I' but 'we'!

"Are you a foundation?"

    No, this is a fundamental difference! When creating projects, I realized that personal effort is finite, and one person can do a lot, but not everything... So, I really wanted to show how any resident of our country, with the trust of others, can do a project. Projects like the ones I create do not need registration or foundations, they are initiatives! At the same time, in a number of projects, we successfully cooperate with foundations, helping them implement their projects or implementing joint projects. As an example, these are the projects "Kind Gift" and "Kind Guest" with the charity fund "Good Samaritan". This is why I will not open a fund in the future. All projects will remain private initiatives. And in this way, I am sure that the example of simplicity and results will serve as a reason for other cities of our country to replicate what has been created by their residents!

"How do I keep up to date with project news?"

    Only my Facebook page. Sometimes they write about us in the press, but that's very rare... They have other things to write about besides us. I got used to it a long time ago. So, subscribe to social networks or a newsletter (by the way, we should probably do one)

"Do you have a global goal?"

    Probably not! Of course, I would like very much to do everything I set out to do, as well as to get the moon out of the sky and move the stars... But it's not possible... So, my true goal is to keep moving, and that's what will help me achieve many more important goals... However, I do have a goal... I want there to be no more wars in the world... But this is probably beyond anyone's powers on earth at the moment...

"How do you become one of your members?"

    The platform was created to be an example! Unlike many people, I am not calling for people to join my projects specifically... I just want people to think about it and change their lives. Will they change the world with me or do something of their own, does it matter ...? The world is getting different every day, and our task is not to let it get worse... So it is very easy to become one of us... Change the world and change together with it!

"How do you set up a social project in your town?"

    It's simple... You call me up. I tell you my way through the process of creating this or that project. I pay attention to all possible details and nuances. You and I work out how you can start your initiative in your city. And then I continue to support you with ideas and advice...! But the most important thing in all this is not my experience, but your desire and energy and persistence... If all this is there, all difficulties can easily be overcome!

"What are you proud of?"

    Certainly not the projects themselves... Proud of the people and the result we achieve together with those who have joined in with an idea. Proud of my family that supports me and puts up with my work schedule! Proud of my nervous system, as not a small part of the projects (especially landscaping projects) is to get through the indifference and inaction of officials!

"Any advice for someone who wants to do a similar platform in their city?"

    There are two ways. The first is that you will need a small office team at the start. And this is the most important factor, unless you have a magic clock (like Hermione in Harry Potter). You will need a couple of thousand like-minded people. Thanks to them, you will be able to create your first projects. You will need your own funding to develop the projects, to pay for expenses of an entirely different nature... But there is a second way, which I followed first - you just have to start, and the rest will work out!

"What does the platform have to do with politics?"

    It has nothing to do with...! I believe that all (or almost all) evil comes from politics. Therefore, I deliberately cut off attempts of politicians to influence the functioning of the platform or to become part of it! All our projects work solely in the sphere of social and charitable plane, forever! However, I was once persuaded to try to become an MP in order to gain more serious leverage to change the world... I warned that people like me were feared in politics... And so, it turned out... Neither the parties nor the press supported my attempts to run for office... And I have no capacity or desire to spoil karma by getting funded.

"Beautification or Charity? Which is the priority?"

    None, but would you be able to choose? I do what I do best... And the outcome and the next project chosen always depend on how actively people get involved in one process or another!

"Do you often hear the question WHY do you need all this? How do you have time for business and projects and not forget about family?"

    I often enough have my interlocutors bewildered and see this simple and succinct question in their eyes: "Why...?" I could hardly satisfy them with my answer... Yes, there is no time, yes, business is difficult to run in the remaining time slots, yes, family requires more attention...! But that's all true until you get to a whole other level in terms of self-organization and building work processes... And it's because it's all important and necessary that I've been able to perform a miracle in personal management. And apart from, albeit not a huge, but successful personal business, I manage to be a happy father, a husband, and a person who has a hobby and all the social projects described on this resource as well...

"What does the platform mechanism exist for?"

    All the time, all the costs of setting up and paying staff have come from my business and sometimes from the support of friends. Now, after the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, my business has been destroyed and the platform's activities have been temporarily suspended. Only spot projects are being carried out, as I no longer have the ability to fund the platform's staff.

"Where did it all start? And what to look forward to in the future?"

    Social projects are a responsibility I took on around 2005. It was then that the idea of setting up my first social project emerged. However, at that time there was no possibility to organise the project myself and devote a lot of time to it, so the process of preparation and accumulation of information began...

    And in 2007-2008, after long revisions of the site and working out the ideology my first social project saw the light - "Good Deeds", today it is called "Good Deeds Directory" ... And after many years, this project for me is still probably one of the most relevant and important projects!

   After that, there were many more ideas for various projects, but the financial situation did not allow me to act quickly (as I was maintaining everything myself), and only in 2012 did I manage to hold the "First Annual Charity Ball", which has been held every year since then and, thanks to the Odessans who supported it, gives us the opportunity to do many good deeds!

   A little later, around 2012-2013, the idea of the Green City project emerged, but the authorities did not support it at the time! Only at the end of 2014 we managed to create a project on the basis of agreements with the mayor's office, and in 2015 the big greening of Odessa was started. This was the case with several other previously conceived projects... For example, around 2012 or 2013 the project "Yards of Odesa" was proposed to the authorities to hold it under their auspices, but they did not support it, and only thanks to the support of patrons (partly my friends) in 2015, the project was able to see the light!

   2015 was a year of many old ideas and projects, but the increased number of sites with different projects brought me back to the idea of creating a common platform... It became crucial to connect all the projects together for better results, and the platform (which connected all the projects) was created! It didn't take me long to get to its current version, not only did I change the functionality, but even the name. But in the end, all the transformations led me to create the platform as you see it now. And for the name, the name of my first project was chosen - Good Deed!

   Today, the platform has become a common platform for all our ideas, each of which has its own story and mission...

In order to turn most of my ideas into workable projects, I needed a few important elements. Belief in myself, support from my family, support from my business (which financed part of my expenses for social projects) and most importantly - your trust! It was your trust and participation, and the successful result of our work together, in the form of regular projects created, that helped me again and again to achieve my goals!

    But despite everything, a person's most valuable resource is time and we all have a limited amount of it. Therefore, I have to develop projects gradually and some of them have been active for a long time, some of them will start in the near future and some (I hope) will be able to be realized in the foreseeable future...

   For faster and more successful project withdrawal and development, I could accept any of the frequent offers (funding) from politicians (and not only). Perhaps then the development process through such support would have been quicker. But I would have "sold" my soul that I have invested in this project and your invaluable trust in this way! We are all tired of the empty rhetoric of politicians and many of you came to this project precisely because all our words and promises have never been at variance with reality!

   So, the platform still has a long way to go. For as long as people believe in Good, all such projects on planet Earth will continue to spin the wheel of Good, set in motion long before you and I did!

"What advice would you give to people who doubt themselves?"

    What matters is not what you think, but what you believe...! And most importantly, believe in your own strength and you will understand - nothing is impossible in this world! I often say, "The world changes if you don't compromise with it ... I've learned it the hard way!

 

Always yours,
Anatoly Kavun!