A joint project (Youth Building Bridges Of Friendship) was begun in 2015 by Galina Evstifeeva (Yaroslavl) and Larry Stevens (Burlington) working with students in English and Art classes in Yaroslavl. Ultimately as of the fall of 2019, involving pupils from four secondary schools, two art schools, one orphanage, the Sunday school of a Russia Orthodox Church, and the students of professional artist Vladimir Reutov. The International Relations Department Of city hall Yaroslavl is supportive of the project.
Since 2015 children’s art has been brought to Burlington most ever year and exhibited at the Fletcher Free Library with the assistance of Librarian Barbara Shatara. The art is then returned to Yaroslavl and new selections are brought back to Burlington for exhibition.
The project is twofold, giving the students learning English a free for all class session of questions and answers with a native English speaker and too provide a vehicle, through their art, for the students in Yaroslavl and Burlington to better understand each other and hopefully to see that as citizens of the world, how much we have in common.
Videos by; Solnechny “Sunshine” Orphanage
Produced by; Tech teacher, Aleksie
Starring orphanage students