The city project "Good Kazan" involves more than 15,000 active participants.

      The city project "Kind Kazan" involves more than 15,000 active participants

      Photo: Marat Mughinov

      This year, the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" celebrates its 10th anniversary. To date, more than 15,000 people (donors, NGO employees, etc.) are involved in the project, of which about a thousand are volunteers, the youngest of whom is 7 years old, and the oldest is 87. The city project "Kind Kazan" is implemented on the initiative of the Mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, as one of the 12 priorities for the urban development of the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" unites 134 funds and initiatives, providing resource, grant, legal, and organizational support to NGOs. Back in 2023, the organization's staff consisted of only 4 people, and today it has grown to 65, 30% of whom are people with disabilities. A priority direction for the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" is working on projects for people with limited health capabilities and those who find themselves in difficult life situations. In total, in this direction, the organization had more than 4,570 beneficiaries in 2025. Of these, within the framework of the "Health" project, aimed at providing assistance to people who have not yet received disability status but need rehabilitation and care, assistance was provided to 483 people. Under the auspices of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan," inclusive leisure centers for children with limited health capabilities and educational-training apartments for children with mental disorders have been created in the city's districts since 2022. Today, there are four inclusive centers in Kazan ("Luch" in Yudino, "Tylsym" on Ippodromnaya, "Krylya" on Golubyatnikova, and "Vmeste" on Zhurnalistov) and two educational-training apartments for children with disabilities aged 9 and older (on Zakieva and Minsk streets), allowing for the coverage of more than 4,000 special children per year. In these open spaces, children acquire daily living skills, study the school curriculum, and attend creative classes. This year, it is planned to open a fifth inclusive center in the "Salavat Kupere" microdistrict for children with disabilities and to begin work on creating a new center on Vostaniya 59.

      In the inclusive center "Vmeste," opened in 2025, the first resource class in Kazan was created in 2026 based on additional education for children with delayed speech development, who were previously homeschooled (now they are taught by teachers according to individual routes), and the only free municipal speech therapy office for children with disabilities in the city. Every year, day camps for children with mental disorders are organized at the inclusive centers, which have already been attended by 600 children (more than 30 camps have been organized). Since 2016, the "Kind Sport" project has been continuously developing, within which 8 sections for children with disabilities have been opened, where 133 children are currently engaged. In 2025, a football team for children with limited health capabilities called "Oblachko" was formed, in which 25 children train twice a week with specially trained coaches at the "Privolzhanka" children's sports school and the "Maksat" football arena. Another team of 25 children with disabilities trains at the Central Stadium. For people with cerebral palsy, a bike rental for special children has been organized on the inclusive boulevard of Serov – the only one in Russia.

      Since 2017, for children with disabilities and those in difficult life situations, the "Kind Wave" festival has been held on the initiative of the Kazan Mayor's Office and Igor Krutoy's Academy of Popular Music. Throughout its duration, 12,000 children from all over the country have participated. At the co-working space "Kind Kazan," opened in September 2022 at 5 Sechenova Street, non-profit organizations in Kazan held more than 1,000 various events in 2025: meetings, conferences, training sessions, master classes, and consultations. Psychological and legal assistance is also provided at the co-working space, and a call center operates there. The hotline for people in difficult life situations has received more than 50,000 calls over three years. In 2025, an inclusive printing house was created in the co-working space, and a carpentry workshop was opened at 3 Kalinina Street, where special children over 18 undergo vocational orientation and socialization.

      In integrating people with disabilities into society, the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" demonstrates significant results – in 2024 and 2025, more than 100 young people were employed, and another 37 are undergoing socialization programs. Assistance in transporting people with disabilities to rehabilitation and treatment locations, as well as to city events, is provided within the framework of the "Social Taxi" and "Kind Bus" projects. Since 2023, more than 2,000 trips have been made. The network of "Kind Souvenir" retail outlets, where products from inclusive workshops are sold, is developing. By the end of 2025, products worth more than 2 million rubles have been sold.

      The Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" provides significant assistance to families of participants in the special military operation. Thanks to the organization, from October 2022 to the end of 2025: 2,751 families received food and household chemical sets worth 3.3 million rubles; 376 families were assisted with the payment of utility bills and rent, repairs, and the purchase of household appliances for a total of 6.9 million rubles; 803 families received assistance in purchasing diapers and baby food for a total of 4.2 million rubles; 484 families received help in purchasing medicines and obtaining medical services for 2.5 million rubles; 77 families with a breadwinner listed as "missing" received financial compensation totaling 1.9 million rubles.

      As a result of various charitable events (concerts, contests, performances, and film screenings), the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" raised more than 18 million rubles for those in need in 2025 alone. Alongside this, various campaigns and collections of charitable assistance are constantly being conducted, including for forcibly displaced persons from the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics, as well as for the families of military personnel. A warehouse for collecting items and subsequently distributing them to those in need opened at 3 Kalinina Street in 2025.

      Every year, the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" holds spring and autumn Good Fairs. As part of the campaign in 2025, more than 15 million rubles were raised. The funds are directed to assist charitable foundations, as well as military personnel participating in the special military operation and their families.

      Throughout its work, the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" has launched a number of important systemic services that continue to operate and develop, including: "Kind Navigator" - a unified database on social support measures; "Accessibility Map" - a service that provides information on the accessibility of social institutions for people with limited mobility; "Registry of Verified NGOs" - a list of reliable verified charitable organizations so that city residents can safely and directly receive and provide assistance.

      The activities of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" and its projects have repeatedly received high recognition at the city, national, and international levels. The co-working space of "Kind Kazan" made it to the shortlist of the All-Russian Public Spaces Award "Formula of the Third Place." In 2025, the director of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan," Tatyana Merzlyakova, was awarded the distinction "For Benefactions" for her contribution to the development of charity. The project "Children's Inclusive Center 'Tylsym'" won the International Award #MYTOMGETHER 2025 in the "Code of Mercy" nomination. A record number of applications were submitted for the award - more than 50,000 from 147 countries around the world. The Kazan project outperformed five competitors in the finals, and the award ceremony took place in Moscow with the participation of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. In the same year, the organization was awarded the Vladimir Potanin Foundation Award for the development of a culture of charity. In March 2026, the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kind Kazan" became a laureate of the Public Award named after Asgat Galimzyanov.

      The experience of the Kazan organization is being adopted by other cities and regions of Russia.