Eight Russians from the Oak Ridge sister city of Obninsk arrive here Monday for 10 days of meetings and experiences with the area's nonprofit and volunteer organizations.

According to information from the United Way of Anderson County, the Russians are hoping to take home information that will give them a better understanding of the concept of volunteering and help them establish programs involving youth and senior citizens.

The United Way will serve as host to the group while sharing its expertise in volunteerism and charitable giving.

This exchange may well be the first time a U.S. United Way agency has worked with representatives of a Russian city to encourage volunteer activities in improving social services, according to Tom Row, United Way board president, who is project director in Oak Ridge for this program.

"We have so much to share with them," Row stated in a news release. "They would like to start some kind of mentoring activities with children in their orphanage, and we can share the activities of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Boys Club and Girls Inc. We have tremendous experience there."

Row said Ken Luckmann, past president of the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, proposed the idea, and the two have worked with Obninsk counterparts to secure a $70,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development International Research and Exchanges Board for a project called Sustaining Partnerships into the Next Century.

That project supports partnerships between U.S. and Russian organizations and institutions, with social sector support being one of the areas targeted.

Row and Annie Cacheiro, new United Way executive director, will travel to Obninsk in May as part of the program, and a team from this area will go to Obninsk in the summer and fall, also.

The fall meeting will involve a major conference in Obninsk where information gained through the project will be shared with other Russian cities in the Kaluga region. Luckmann will serve as co-director of the project.

"Charitable giving, whether in time, money or talent, is a new thing in Russia these days," Luckmann said.

The grant funds three organizations -- United Way, the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, and a charitable organization in Obninsk directed by Gennady Artemeyev.