Our mission is to provide a safe and inspiring environment in which to play for every child living in urban Russia.

This is clearly a huge task,
but one that we are slowly fulfilling:
one screw,
one bar,
one fence,
one slide,
one swing,
and one community at a time.

We believe that play is a necessity, not a luxury, and that every child should be given a secure environment in which to play.
Please join us in making this dream come true, for all Russia's children.

YOU CAN DONATE HERE - justgiving.com/nakedheart/

A Childhood Without Play
Natalia Vodianova grew up in a poor district of Nizhny Novgorod with her mother and two half sisters, one of whom has cerebral palsy. Like most children living in urban environments across Russia, Natalia and her sisters had nowhere safe to play in the outdoors. As a teenager, Natalia helped her mother sell fruit on the street and later set up her own fruit stand with a friend to help her family out of poverty.

A Career in the Fashion Spotlight
When she was 17, Natalia was given the opportunity to work as a fashion model in Paris. By 2000 she was working with designers such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Yves Saint Laurent. She has been the face of Calvin Klein, Chanel, David Yurman, Guerlain and Jacob & Co., and is recognised as one of the world's top fashion models. In 2001, Natalia married Justin Portman and gave birth to their first child. They now live permanently in the UK with their three children and are actively involved in the work of the Foundation in Russia.

Giving Children a Place to Play
Natalia's experiences as a child and opportunities as an adult have allowed her to become a bridge between the international community and the needs of Russian children. In 2005, Natalia and Justin created the Naked Heart Foundation to construct modern Play Parks for less fortunate children in Russia. In Natalia's own words: "When I wanted to play as a child, there was really nowhere to go. My vision is to build safe play parks in as many towns as I can. I want the play parks to be for all children, including children with disabilities."

Philosophy
The organisation's basic argument is that play should be viewed as necessity rather than a luxury and that there has been insufficient attention paid in Russia to making sure that many children have safe environments to play in. The organisation's website identifies Lev Vygotsky, via a quotation, as providing some motivation for the Foundation. "A child's greatest achievements are possible in play, achievements that will tomorrow become his basic level of real action and morality. It is the essence of play that a new relation is created… between situations in thought and real situations."

The Play Parks and Playgrounds
The organisation built its first Play Park in 2006 in Nizhny Novgorod. It has since built nearly 30 more Play Parks and Playgrounds. (The distinction between the Play Parks and Playgrounds being that the latter are smaller affairs.) Architect and artist Adam Kalkin provided the design for the recreation centers for the parks, to be built of shipping containers. In July 2008 Petrozavodsk joined the growing list of cities to have had a playground constructed. Petrozavodsk's playground included sandboxes, rope-way and a roller park.

History and organisation
The organisation has offices in London and Moscow and three principal staff: Amy Bramley (Executive Director, International), Asya Zalogina (Executive Director, Russia) and Oxana Medvedeva (Program Officer). The Foundation's revenue and expenditure in 2007 was in the order of $1 million.More recent accounts are available at the Foundations entry on the Charity Commission's website. By May 2009 the charity had constructed 23 playgrounds, with plans underway to build 15 more.