Heart to Heart benefactress: (Left) Nika Pleshkova at Bennington College in Vermont, circa 1939. (Right) Nika Pleshkova Thayer in Red Square, Moscow, circa 1993.
 

How rare it is to have both the instincts and the resources to be a generous humanitarian. How wonderful it is to have the vision and faith to pursue a new course which other people might write-off as a passing dream. Nika embodied these humanitarian and visionary inclinations in her wide-reaching philanthropy.

Long-time friend and benefactress of Heart to Heart, Nika Thayer supported our mission unconditionally. Her generosity over many years helped us develop our first children's heart center, in St. Petersburg. Nika visited the center in 2001, just as we began to strategize how to expand our scope to give every child throughout Russia access to life-saving, modern heart care.

In 2003, a large donation to Heart to Heart from Nika reflected her faith and commitment to our work. She expressed this in a note reading, "In recognition of the good works of Heart to Heart, please find enclosed our check for general charitable purposes. I'm confident it will be used wisely." Her unwavering loyalty and generosity enabled us to venture from St. Petersburg into the heartland of Russia.

Nika was able to see the value of increasing her financial support to fund our Into the Heartland Campaign (2002 – 2022) – which would reach thousands of children throughout all of Russia. Her generous bequest will go a very long way toward ensuring the Campaign's success.

Born in Russia in the momentous year of 1919, Nika, still an infant, escaped to China with her parents. The family emigrated to the United States, settling first in California and then in Connecticut. Nika's international idealism found ample outlets while she worked with the Army Specialized Training Program at Yale University and then as a code-breaker in the Signal Corps in Washington, DC. She went on to work for Radio Free Europe in New York for fifteen years, helping Soviet citizens behind the Iron Curtain obtain news from the West.

Nika understood that the return on her Heart to Heart investment would not be immediately tangible, but she had faith that it would ultimately lead to thousands of children's lives being saved. She passed away on February 19, 2008, leaving Heart to Heart a major bequest from her estate. Nika leaves a legacy of health and opportunity for the children of millions of families.