Mothers and Children Charitable Foundation (full legal name: «Missionary Charitable Foundation Missionary named after Priest Daniel Sysoyev») began its work on April 29, 2010. The first transfers to help needy mothers were made in September 2010. At that time the fund had only 6 wards. Over the years, the number of deceased priests’ families that the foundation has taken into care has grown to 55. About ten properties were purchased for widowed clergy families. Also, since 2016, assistance to children with disabilities has begun.

The president of the Foundation is Julia Mikhailovna Sysoeva, the former wife of the martyred priest Daniel Sysoev, a well-known missionary and preacher.

Shortly before his death, Father Daniel expressed the idea of organizing a charitable fund to help the widows of Orthodox clergy. In Russia specifically there are many different charitable organizations specializing in a certain category of needy people: some of them raise funds for orphans, some for cancer patients, some for lonely old people… But the families of deceased, dead or murdered priests have been left out. While a priest is alive, he is afforded the care and honor of parishioners. But after his death, the widow and children are in the shadows and are usually quickly forgotten. Few people care about the question, how does the matushka live now? How does she provide for herself? In some dioceses and benefices, widowed matushkas are well supported, but in most dioceses they are not. It is difficult for many village parishes to support a priest, let alone support the widow of the previous rector. This is where the «Mothers and Children» Charitable Foundation comes to the aid of such families.

How the Mothers and Children Foundation works

We collect information about the families of deceased priests (clerics), and after a background check we publish a page with detailed information on the website matushkideti.ru, through which we collect funds for assistance and distribute them according to the needs of each beneficiary family.

Thanks to our donors, the lives of the mothers and their children have become noticeably better, but continued support is necessary. To date, there are fifty-five widowed mothers’ families with children in our care, and a total of one hundred and forty minor children. At present (September 2023) two new families are preparing documents, totaling 8 new children. The process of searching for new families is ongoing. For 13 years we have developed a system of support for our mothers as follows: 15,000 rubles per month for each minor child. A special emphasis is put upon the support of young students who still live with the family, especially daughters as they have almost no opportunity to receive outside income. Thus, an average family with three children receives 45,000 rubles per month and therefore can afford the necessities.

Buying homes for homeless families.

People have different situations. During the 13-year history of the Foundation, we have had about fifteen families that needed homes. Through your donations we managed to collect the necessary sums and buy apartments and houses for those in need. Currently there are five families in a similar situation among our beneficiaries. Two families have an urgent need to make major repairs to their homes. All detailed information about this type of assistance can be found in the section You Helped!

Help for disabled children

In 2016, the Foundation expanded its activities to help children suffering from various serious illnesses in need of assistance. We began to open and raise funds to help these children’s mothers purchase medical equipment, medicines, and rehabilitation services. For more information about all of this, please see You Helped!

Anyone can join the holy cause of helping widowed mothers or disabled children. Funds can be transferred in a convenient way. On this site there are various payment systems with automatic publication of the date, name and amount to the Charity, as well as other ways (bank details, to the Sberbank card of the President of the Foundation, e-wallets, sms). Read more about payment methods in How to Help.