Elena Birikh: "It's better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly"

27 january 2025

Our January issue of the About People and Good Deeds column features an interview with Elena Birikh, chief expert at the Tomsk branch of BIAXPLEN, discussing her volunteer’s journey, sharing her experience of organizing corporate events within the company, expounding on ways of being effective in getting one’s colleagues involved in charitable initiatives, and offering a preview of an upcoming charitable campaign.

Would you please tell us about yourself and about how you got into volunteering?
My name is Elena, I am 36. I got a job with SIBUR a year and a half ago. I found my new company to be interesting, fast-growing, and ambitious. Before getting hired to my current position, I had already been engaged in volunteering albeit at the level of my own family. My husband and I, we both are fond of animals and nature. So we started visiting animal shelters to walk dogs, feed them, and to help clean their kennels. After we had our child, I wanted to instill in her a conscious attitude to our environment and a love for volunteering from an early age. And so, from early on, we have always been taking our daughter to all of the events that we ourselves go to. Last autumn, a photo contest of bird feeders was organized as part of the Land of the Lapwing project implemented under SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program. Together with my family we were happy to take part in this initiative. To top it all, I have been a blood donor for 4 years, with 8 donation behind my belt already.

Why did you choose to take charge of volunteering at the Tomsk branch of BIAXPLEN?
When I was going through my onboarding at SIBUR, I learned that the company in general is very committed to volunteering and that volunteers are strongly supported here. That said, volunteering was not really that widespread at BIAXPLEN’s site in Tomsk at the time, and I felt challenged to take it in my own hands. I assembled my own team of like-minded individuals and we got down to doing things.

What are some of your personality traits that help you in your volunteering endeavors?
I thinks these are kindness, a selfless desire to help others, caring about what is going around you in general. All those who are involved in volunteering in their spare time, outside of work and personal chores, tend to be very kind and responsive individuals with a big heart.

What was the most memorable moment in your volunteering career?
Everything about volunteering is quite emotional and memorable. Whether this is about helping children, nature or animals, all these activities are always very moving and emotional. As for the most recent memorable events, I can recall a summer visit to a shelter for stray animals. One very hot day, we had collected donations for the animals and took a volunteering trip to the shelter together with members of our colleagues’ families. While the animals got the care and attention that they had been craving so much, that day left us all with really warm memories that are hard to put in words.

You have been in charge of four company-wide campaigns implemented within your enterprise. Can you tell us a few words about your "Let’s Warm’em Up" campaign? What kind of response from your colleagues did it find?
The Let’s Warm’em Up campaign is a great opportunity to be of help. We live in an area with a harsh climate where disadvantaged families really need warm clothes and shoes. Our volunteers are happy to have an opportunity to not only declutter their closets, but to also help others in doing so. This campaign saw a great response from our colleagues when they learned whom we help and why these people need it. In 2024, we provided assistance to the Ogonyok Social Center for Families and Children that has more than 200 children under its care. Thanks to the joint efforts of our employees, we collected and handed over to the center’s beneficiaries some 40 to 50 bags containing cold-weather clothing and footwear items.

What are the results of the "Big Help to Little Friends" 2024 campaign?
Last summer, we paid a visit to the "Kind Hands" shelter for stray animals. We were joined not only by our company’s employees, but also by members of their families. Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers who took part in collecting the needed supplies, some 70 kilograms of dry food, 80 kilograms of cereals, as well as wet food and household implements and items got provided to the shelter. In addition, together with our colleagues, we helped a cat shelter last December by sending it more than 40 kilograms of food and supplies.

What was particularly memorable about your "Back to school soon" campaign?
Back to school soon is another important and very much needed campaign, if you ask me. By helping would-be first graders get ready for their first day in school on September 1, we get involved in a new and very important phase in their lives. I understand perfectly well that we might not be able to help everyone who needs it. However, one should remember that everyone’s individual efforts can have a tremendous positive effect if they are harmonized with efforts of others.

In April 2024 you took part in a seminar on volunteering put on by Formula for Good Deeds experts. What are some of the ideas that you took note of there?
That workshop gave me the idea to install a branded box for dropping off use plastic caps, and so now we have one at our own facility, too. It was also nice to meet my colleagues from Tomskneftekhim and coordinators of the volunteering program in person. When you socialize with such kind, responsive and motivated people, you immediately start feeling filled with energy and a desire to keep moving on.

How do you get new employees involved in your volunteering endeavors?
Most members of the company’s workforce work in shifts, and as a result not all of them check their email for newsletters on a regular basis. We chose a different approach. In the case of employees doing internship at the Central Plant Lab, we hold introductory meetings with them together with one of our HR specialists where I introduce them to volunteering activities at the enterprise and invite them to join our campaigns. In addition, to inform our colleagues about any upcoming events, we put up posters and announcement in our dining room area and on the bulletin board. I would like to take this opportunity and express my profound gratitude to our head of production Mr. Bartuli. As our facility’s Commander-in-Chief, he has always been supportive of our volunteering activities, giving us an opportunity to advertise our upcoming events at regular efficiency meetings. Our shift supervisors and other managers are also actively involved in encouraging members of their teams to take part in our volunteering activities.

How much did the Breakthrough of the Year award that you received at SIBUR's 5th Corporate Volunteering Forum mean to you?
It took me by complete surprise. I am thinking back to it now, and it still makes my skin crawl! I can't describe in words how overcome with emotions I was at that moment. SIBUR is far from my first employer, but I have not seen so much great support and attention to my volunteering activities anywhere else. That award was not just a sign of recognition of my personal input and efforts, but also an iconic moment for the entire team of my coworkers with whom we had been implementing our initiatives. I take this as a testament to the fact that our efforts really matter and contribute to changing our communities for the better. The award motivates me to keep on developing volunteering initiatives, broaching new ideas and inspiring others to take part in doing good.

Are there any upcoming activities or campaigns that you intend to hold?
February 15th is International Childhood Cancer Day. At Tomsk’s oncology hospital there is a department where children from our city and the outlying region suffering from severe conditions either undergo long-term treatment or go through a long-term recovery process. We have been staying in touch with the staff at the Alena Petrova Foundation to find out how else our volunteers’ efforts might be of help. Ultimately, a decision was made to hold a charitable event at our facility providing our coworkers with an opportunity to support these children by offering them crafts and creativity kits. I would also like to start installing "Boxes of Courage" at our facility.

What advice would you give to those who are only just starting their volunteering journey?
Be patient. Things don’t always work out on the first take. And that's fine. But it's better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly.

What are your plans for the future in terms of your volunteering activities?
After attending the workshop with the coordinators of the volunteering program in April, I thought a lot about maybe taking part in the Contest of SIBUR Employees’ Volunteering Projects. I think that during this year I will be able to clearly formulate the sequence of my actions and to think through the details of it all in order to enter my application and contribute to yet another good cause.

Further information about SIBUR's volunteers and their upcoming activities is available on social media, such as VK and Telegram.