It’s a magical moment when children get to learn and play with a new technology. Our Ukrainian ClearSlide team got to help residents of the Kharkiv regional orphanage unleash their creativity when they presented a hands-on 3D printing masterclass.

As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, ClearSlide is undertaking “10 Ways of Giving Back.” Over the course of the year, we’ll continue to highlight other organizations and charitable causes that are important to our employees. Our goal is to support our employees’ favorite causes and raise awareness for the importance of giving back. That’s why ClearSlide’s Ukraine-based software development team visited the Kharkiv Regional Orphanage Center of Social-Psychological Rehabilitation for Kids and held a special afternoon of activities with the children.

When product manager Aleksey Rusetskyi suggested they visit the orphanage, team members like Oleg Brusentsov were excited to “bring a piece of the holidays to someone in need.” The orphanage, located in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, serves children who have been brought up in difficult homes and whose parents may have been unable to care for them due to addiction or poverty. Dima Grushkin, a DevOps engineer, said the mission of the staff and organization was great.

Together, they prepared a masterclass to teach the children how to print items with a 3D pen. They printed butterflies, roses, sunglasses — even a miniature Eiffel Tower. Software engineer Iryna Kotliarova said that was her favorite part: seeing the kids’ creations come to life and “helping a girl achieve her dream.” After the class, the group all enjoyed tea and a cake with the ClearSlide logo 3D printed on it.

The experience made a deep impression on the ClearSlide team. Yurii Timchenko said he felt inspired to volunteer more often and invite more friends to join him. Iryna agreed, saying it made her realize how caring her colleagues were; she hopes to volunteer again not only with friends, but also with her teammates. Dmytro Saievskyi said this experience “gave him a different perspective on the world” and motivated him to help others in his community.

At ClearSlide, we are directed by a simple mission: “Do great things.” Dima said this was a guiding principle for him when visiting the orphanage. Oleg agreed, saying it was his career that motivated him to make the world a better place: “What would be better than to help little children understand that our world is a great place to be?”

Dima and his co-workers were moved by the experience; as Dima said, “You will never forget the eyes and smile of these kids.”

Volunteering is not a panacea for the world’s problems, but it does make a difference. Our ClearSlide team is committed to continuing our volunteerism, in all our communities. Dima says, “Everyone should remember that there are a lot of people in the world who haven’t had the chance to be happy in life for different reasons. If you can help them, just do it.” With this motto in mind, ClearSlide will continue to work with organizations in our communities across the world to give back.

Stay tuned for the next blog in our “10 Ways to Give Back” series to learn more about the causes important to our team.