“Good Heart” donates own funds, seeks connections with volunteers and mayors to search for people in need
They are young, with a tireless spirit and united by one cause – to help those in need. The “Good Heart” group in Pazardzhik was born from the idea of 38-year-old Georgi Yanakiev. He lived in England, where he has his own business, but decided to help people in need in his hometown and in the region.
“While I was abroad, I got involved in similar platforms many times, but I decided to do something for the people of Pazardzhik as well,” Georgi Yanakiev told “24 Chasa”. He shared his desire in one of the Pazardzhik groups on the social network and counted on acquaintances and strangers to respond. And so it happened.
“With the idea that people know each other in the neighborhoods, I wanted to find people in need. Because I had no information – after all, I was gone for 10 years”, adds Georgi.
His post in the group is gaining huge popularity and in just 24 hours it collects thousands of likes, hundreds of comments for people who need help. The first case in which Georgi and his like-minded people got involved was with a woman, but the people on the platform said that it wasn’t worth it because she was abusive.
“However, this did not deter us from continuing to do good. Many enthusiasts joined the group,
one offered to give a stove, another a refrigerator,
third – a bed. We gave Christmas dinner to several families, gifts to the children. We collected funds with which we bought firewood for lonely people in Chernogorovo, Pishtigovo, Karabunar, Zlokuchene”, says Georgi Yanakiev.
He emphasized that they make the donations with personal savings. They were greatly assisted by the mayors of places who knew the residents and who really needed help.
The most active members of the group – Aneli Pino, Georgi Panushev, Borislav Pavlov, Roza Dimova, Petya Tsarkova, Georgi Yanakiev and Nikolay Sharkov, have already registered an association and have an open bank account where donations are received.
Their next manifestation was a charity one
concert in support of four young people with cerebral palsy
To help Zlati, Rumi, Velichko and Tsveti, native stars joined it.
“Our friend Niki Sharkov, who has a horse base, told us about children with special needs. They go to him for therapy and that’s how we decided to organize the charity concert”, adds Anneli Pino.
“The municipality of Pazardzhik, in the person of the mayor Petar Kulinski, provided us with the sports hall “Vasil Levski”. Over 1,800 people gathered. There were also people on the stairs. The concert showed us that our city is empathetic and united. We collected BGN 26,500, which we divided among these children, who also attended the concert,” says Yanakiev.
In the region, “Good Heart” relies on its friends from cave and mountain rescue. Common initiatives connected them with the National Association of Volunteers in Bulgaria, with which “Good Heart” is already a partner.
“We established contacts with an association in England – “Angels for Bulgaria”, thanks to which a large donation arrived in Pazardzhik – a whole tire with rehabilitation beds, wheelchairs, walkers, chairs for adults with specific needs, canes, crutches, etc. Thanks to like-minded people from “Mountain Rescue” – Pazardzhik, whose representatives responded, the truck was unloaded very quickly”, says Georgi.
The donation was distributed to the regional hospital, homes for the elderly, homes for disabled children, etc. The various campaigns have shown them that the Bulgarian is inclined to donate, it just has to be in the right place.
“I believe that we have won the trust of the people and that is why they trust us and support us. Another successful campaign is the one in support of Nia Georgieva – she
needs special rehabilitation procedures abroad,
which are overwhelming for the family. We decided to dedicate the whole of March to her. We engaged the schools and kindergartens in Pazardzhik to make bazaars and a sum was collected from them. Sympathetic parents, teachers, children joined the campaign. This is how we teach the younger ones to help too”, reflects Georgi. For Nia, they collected funds not only for this course of treatment, but also for the next one.
“Our sunny children tirelessly made cards, martenichki and infected their parents at home in the evening with their kindness and dedication. Our teachers and principals have created their magical Nia corners in every school and kindergarten in the city,” commented 38-year-old Anneli Pino. She and Georgi Yanakiev grew up together as children. She became a member of the “Good Heart” group when it was created in 2022.
“Everyone works for the cause in their spare time. He has a job, a family, but he gets involved in the campaigns. The schools the children attend, the teams they train in, and the troupes they dance in are all involved. Because goodness is contagious. We just need to be more”, commented Anneli.
Everything is transparent and shared within the group. “The idea is to engage society, because the Bulgarian is compassionate, eager to help. I see it at every action and every cause. Kindness really is contagious. There is no person who, having once come with us, does not come again and rub, etc. When institutions cannot help, they turn to us. They know that they can always find support”, says Georgi Yanakiev.
