Hello (wellness center)

The creation of the center began in December 2011 in the city of Dolgoprudny under the leadership of Evgenia Belova, who had previously graduated from Moscow State University of Service with a degree in social and cultural service and tourism, and then took a management course in social entrepreneurship at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov . To do this, she and her husband had to lay an apartment, sell a car, take a loan from a bank for 500 thousand rubles, use the maternity capital of 30 thousand rubles received for the birth of a second child. In March 2012, she registered the Children's Health Center “Hello” limited liability company and, together with the doctor Natalia Rybakova, an employee of the rehabilitation treatment department of the Moscow Medical Academy named after IM Sechenova , developed a detailed business plan (soon Rybakova died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ) ^[2] .

In September 2012, the official opening of the Children's Health Center “Hello!” Took place on the site of former storage facilities of 250 m², which were leased and completely repaired (about 4 million rubles were spent on repairs). The development of business was facilitated by the fact that in the same 2012, the company won the All-Russian competition for social entrepreneurs of the Our Social Futures regional social programs fund, receiving an interest-free loan of 500 thousand rubles for a period of five years ^[3] . During the first year and a half of work, more than a thousand healthy children and about two hundred children with cerebral palsy became clients of the center. In October 2013, due to the active use of outdoor advertising, the yield, according to Belova, increased by almost 1000% - if the first year of work ended with a loss, the second already brought a small profit ^[4] .

In the spring of 2014, Evgenia Belova was awarded the All-Russian Prize “Impulse of Good” in the nomination “For the best presentation of social entrepreneurship” ^[5] , and she also won the video competition “I am a businessman”, held by SKB Kontur and the public organization “ Support of Russia ” - Got almost 2000 votes and received a grant in the amount of 300 thousand rubles ^[4] . Then she launched a crowdfunding gathering on the Boomstarter website with the aim of obtaining the amount necessary to organize an inclusive game room in the Salyut Sports and Fitness Center in Dolgoprodny ^[6] . The Hello Center took part in the Moscow festival of unlimited possibilities, “Dreamland,” designed to remove the barriers between ordinary people and people with disabilities ^[7] .

Evgenia Belova, among other things, is a member of the public chamber of the Moscow region, was at a reception with the governor Andrei Vorobyov - the management plans to replicate such centers in other cities of Russia, in the form of a franchise or branches . In total, according to Belova, about 10 million rubles were invested in the business over two years, while the project quickly reached self-sufficiency , and currently has an annual profit of about 6 million rubles ^[1] .

The Hello Center consists of several large halls, where classes with infants, preschool and teenage children are held daily: trainings, seminars, holidays. The wellness center also includes a swimming pool, sauna, salt cave, phytobar, massage and psychological rooms. Professional swimming instructors, music and physical education teachers, defectologists, psychologists, speech therapists, neuropathologists, osteopaths work with children, sometimes doctors of other specialties come and consult ^[8] .

The organization adheres to the concept of inclusive education . Simultaneously with healthy children, children with cerebral palsy , autism , Down syndrome , cancer and other disabilities, including blind and deaf, are trained ^[9] . According to Belova, about 500 children visit the center, of which approximately 150 have severe diagnoses, and the cost of services for “special children” is much lower ^{[2] [1]} .

The idea of ​​the center, as we conceived with Natalia Rybakova, is that all children are the same, can study together. Even those kids who are not able to move independently. But they are able to observe how other children are engaged. Healthy people see and understand that a person must be loved and accepted by anyone. It doesn’t matter if he can walk, say whether all parts of his body are moving correctly. And special children reach for healthy ones, an energy exchange takes place.

- Evgenia Belova ^[1]

Clients of the center are not only residents of Dolgoprudny, but also Moscow, Mozhaisk, Yakhroma, Iksha, Lobny and other nearby cities ^[8] .

• Hello! - official site of the center