Fundraising, Supporters

Music is my biggest hobby

Volunteer fundraising is one of the most exciting ways to support a charity. It allows you to have fun whilst helping children beat cancer. And it gets even more exciting when modern technologies are added into the mix!

Nearly a thousand pounds was raised recently by Gift of Life long-term supporter Evgeny Kuznetsov in collaboration with Locals.org, a new social discovery app that aims to turn every meet-up or experience into an opportunity to do good within your community.

Evgeny hosted a special piano concert, which gathered more than 80 people via the app and personal connections and raised much-needed funds to help children and young people in Russian clinics beat cancer.

Held at October Gallery in Holborn, the concert marked the 15th anniversary of Gift of Life’s sister charity in Russia, Podari Zhizn. The guests were treated to a special programme comprising essential pieces by Frederic Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Scriabin, as well as cover versions of hits and best songs of Metallica, Queen, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Chris Isaak and others. Several pieces were performed together with the amazing violinist Ramina Mukusheva, and Rodion Romanadze, who sang some all-time favourite songs.

A Moscow State University of Culture and Arts graduate, Evgeny played piano professionally before his career took a different turn. Evgeny studied quality testing for digital products, worked as a software engineer in Moscow, then moved to London few years ago and has been working for leading IT companies since. But to this day music is Evgeny’s biggest hobby.

It’s through music that he discovered another passion: helping to change children’s lives through charitable projects including the Gift of Life volunteer fundraising programme. Back in 2019, Evgeny arranged “Let’s play”, his first ever concert raising funds for Gift of Life.

Concerts like this and many other volunteer fundraising initiatives are hugely important for charities. In 10 years, with the essential contribution of our volunteer fundraisers like Evgeny we have already helped over 500 patients to receive vital therapy for cancer and life-threatening blood diseases.

We are endlessly grateful to Evgeny for standing by our side and volunteering his time and talent. Huge thanks to Ramina, Rodion and all the guests of the evening for their incredible support. Thank you to Locals.org for the opportunity to introduce a community of like-minded people to our mission of saving young lives from cancer.


To join the fight with childhood cancer and support, please donate now.

If you’re thinking of starting your own volunteer fundraising campaign in support of Gift of Life but don’t know where to begin, drop us a line at info@giftoflife.eu and we’ll help you with some ideas!