BH founder Stefania Magidson receives the Legacy of Compassion & Impact Award
We are honored to share wonderful news with our community. Our founder, Stefania Magidson, has been selected to receive the Women of Influence: Legacy of Compassion & Impact Award at the 2026 Women of Influence Summit, hosted by the Chamber for for Romanian American Trade & Industry (CRATI). The summit will take place on March 21, 2026, in the Chicago area. In their announcement, #CRATI wrote: “This honor celebrates a woman whose vision, generosity, and purpose-driven compassion create lasting change. Through the Blue Heron Foundation, your work continues to uplift communities and inspire hope.” For 24 years, Stefania has led Blue Heron with unwavering dedication, supporting vulnerable youth through education, mentorship, and opportunity. We are deeply grateful for her leadership and proud to see her work recognized in this meaningful way. Congratulations, Stefania! Chamber for Romanian American Trade & Industry
2025 Summer camp at Rasnov
The 2025 Blue Heron Summer Camp started with gentle morning stretches and a shared breakfast, with participants mingling and starting to get to know one another. Our scholarship recipients come from all across Romania and the Republic of Moldova, and each was ready for new adventures, as was made very clear in the evening when they went horseback riding at the Diana Equitation Center. Some students overcame their fears to go galloping — a truly huge achievement! The day ended with a folk dancing class with all the students kicking up their heels in time to the music. Blue Heron Foundation is proud to give our students experiences that will last a lifetime.Students signed up for different workshops that focused on building healthy relationships. Every activity, from aikido to sharing stories, empowered our students with the confidence and skills they need to be in control of their future. Stefania Magidson gave a special “behind the scenes” presentation. “I want our students to know what goes on from a founder’s perspective,” Stefania said. Her talk was definitely eye opening, and students gained a new understanding of the foundation that is helping them fly. 2024 Summer camp at Rasnov
August 2025: BH teams travels throughout Romania and Moldova
Every year, the Blue Heron Foundation team, including U.S.-based founder, Stefania Magidson, travels throughout Romania and the Republic of Moldova with a carefully planned itinerary. And every year, while the schedule is followed, unexpected and beautiful moments unfold along the way. The summer of 2025 was no different — and it happened on the very first stop: Bucharest. During an early dinner with members of the extended Blue Heron family — always early, because there are so many stories to share — six alumni made a remarkable announcement: they wished to become mentors for the next generation of students. Their desire to give back was deeply moving and a powerful reminder of the values that define the Blue Heron community. As many may recall, Blue Heron scholarship students are encouraged to volunteer weekly during their studies. Seeing alumni now step forward to guide younger students is a clear reflection that those early lessons in generosity and service have stayed with them. Each summer, the foundation’s leadership immerses itself fully in the Blue Heron Summer Camp, spending long days — often up to fourteen hours — with the students and participating in the program’s classes and activities. Even after full days of learning and discussions, the students’ energy continued late into the evening with board games and conversations that strengthened the bonds within the Blue Heron family. A significant portion of the trip is dedicated to interviewing prospective scholarship students. While Romanian students are required to complete high school, in the Republic of Moldova schooling is state-mandated only until the age of fifteen. Many of the candidates come from extremely difficult circumstances; some had never even visited a city before. Among them was one young girl whose determination to become a doctor left a lasting impression. It is easy to imagine writing about her accomplishments in the years to come. The foundation is deeply grateful to Cristina Porsega, Blue Heron’s Program Director, whose dedication ensured that every aspect of the trip ran flawlessly. In September, 25 new Blue Heron scholarship recipients joined the program. The foundation looks forward to sharing their journeys — and the continued progress of the entire Blue Heron community — in the months and years ahead. August 2024: BH team travels throughout Romania and Moldova BH team travels throughout Romania and Moldova to meet with scholarship recipients and interview new students.
Stefania Magidson meets with Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief at Vogue, and share stories about Blue Heron Foundation
In Paris, Stefania Magidson was honored to meet with Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief at Vogue, and share stories about Blue Heron Foundation as well as first-hand accounts from LA after the fires. “Anna is not only a visionary who often connects the world of fashion to socially relevant causes, she is also a genuinely caring humanitarian” said Stefania.
Blue Heron’s Cancer Care Program for Ukranian Refugees
Blue Heron’s Cancer Care Program for Ukranian Refugees completes its tour de force: almost $500,000 raised from grants and private donors, 220 cancer patients evaluated and 162 patients treated.
BH founder Stefania Magidson receives the Legacy Humanitarian Award
“We are honoring with our Legacy Award one of our long-time supporters, Stefania Magidson, the founder and president of the Blue Heron Foundation. Not only has she been a champion of the arts, Romanian cinema, and film festivals here and elsewhere in the U.S., she has also built a great organization, Blue Heron Foundation, to provide scholarship and mentoring to orphans and young people at risk in Romania and Moldova. This year, however, she has shown what her life’s work and mission led to, at the outset of the tragic war in Ukraine. Stefania immediately rallied to raise necessary funds, organized her Blue Heron alumni to pick up refugees from the borders and drive them to safety, provide clothing, emergency hygiene supplies and facilities, find accommodation, partnered with medical groups on the ground to deliver necessary supplies, and organized faster and better than many bigger relief service providers. With her long-standing record of support for the arts and SEEfest mission, we can be truly proud that one of our own has emerged as a beacon of hope and an extraordinary example of how relief can be provided on the ground even in the middle of the largest and chaotic refugee crisis in Europe since WWII.” Vera Mijojlić Director South East European Film Festival, Los Angeles
Un mesaj de sarbtori pentru mentorii Blue Heron
Dragi mentori, Alături de întreaga echipă Blue Heron, vă mulțumesc pentru generozitatea, dedicarea, căldura și grija pe care le-ați pus în relațiile cu bursierii noștri în acest an atât de atipic și de dificil. Totodată, vă anunț cu bucurie că începând cu primele luni ale anului 2021 ne dorim să inițiem o serie de întâlniri online care să aibă în prim plan relația de mentorat. Dorim să împărtășim unii cu alții idei și îndrumări despre cum să aprofundăm relația mentor-mentee, cum să depășim/prevenim obstacole și să construim încredere. În pragul sărbătorilor de iarnă vă doresc clipe de liniște, de conectare și relaxare împreună cu cei dragi și îmi exprim recunoștința profundă pentru sprijinul acordat tinerilor din programul nostru. Vă asigur de disponibilitatea mea și sper să construim împreună o comunitate a binelui, plină cu povești despre iubire și grijă.Cu admirație și recunoștință, Cătălina NeculauCoordonator al grupului din care face parte bursierul mentorat de dumneavoastră Copyright © 2020 Blue Heron Foundation, All rights reserved.
OUR LOS ANGELES ANNUAL SALON
Home who we are what we do other programs University scolarship program suporters suporters and partners news news & articles articles contact Home who we are what we do other programs University scolarship program suporters suporters and partners news news & articles articles contact DONATE Log In More than 2 results are available in the PRO version (This notice is only visible to admin users) OUR LOS ANGELES ANNUAL SALON Previous Post Blue Heron Fundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit charitable organization operated in the US, Romania and Moldova Contact US: +1310 720 2038 RO: +40 745 709 411 MD: 00373369098182 info@blueheronfundation.org Informații 269 South Beverly Drive, Suite 435 Beverly Hills, California 90212, USA Bd. Octavian Goga Nr. 23, Bl. M 106 Sc. 3 Et.1 Ap. 72, Sector 3, BUCHAREST 030984 Romania Str. Grigore Vieru Nr. 19, Chisinau, Republica Moldova, Cod Postal MD-2005
BHF FOUNDER STEFANIA MAGIDSON, GUEST SPEAKER AT INK TALKS, HYDERABAD.
Home who we are what we do other programs University scolarship program suporters suporters and partners news news & articles articles contact Home who we are what we do other programs University scolarship program suporters suporters and partners news news & articles articles contact DONATE Log In More than 2 results are available in the PRO version (This notice is only visible to admin users) BHF FOUNDER STEFANIA MAGIDSON, GUEST SPEAKER AT INK TALKS, HYDERABAD. Previous PostNext Post Blue Heron Fundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit charitable organization operated in the US, Romania and Moldova Contact US: +1310 720 2038 RO: +40 745 709 411 MD: 00373369098182 info@blueheronfundation.org Informații 269 South Beverly Drive, Suite 435 Beverly Hills, California 90212, USA Bd. Octavian Goga Nr. 23, Bl. M 106 Sc. 3 Et.1 Ap. 72, Sector 3, BUCHAREST 030984 Romania Str. Grigore Vieru Nr. 19, Chisinau, Republica Moldova, Cod Postal MD-2005
BLUE HERON FOUNDATION IS HONORED BY THE COUNCIL OF INSTITUTIONALIZED YOUTH OF ROMANIA
Home who we are what we do other programs University scolarship program suporters suporters and partners news news & articles articles contact Home who we are what we do other programs University scolarship program suporters suporters and partners news news & articles articles contact DONATE Log In More than 2 results are available in the PRO version (This notice is only visible to admin users) BLUE HERON FOUNDATION IS HONORED BY THE COUNCIL OF INSTITUTIONALIZED YOUTH OF ROMANIA Previous PostNext Post Blue Heron Fundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit charitable organization operated in the US, Romania and Moldova Contact US: +1310 720 2038 RO: +40 745 709 411 MD: 00373369098182 info@blueheronfundation.org Informații 269 South Beverly Drive, Suite 435 Beverly Hills, California 90212, USA Bd. Octavian Goga Nr. 23, Bl. M 106 Sc. 3 Et.1 Ap. 72, Sector 3, BUCHAREST 030984 Romania Str. Grigore Vieru Nr. 19, Chisinau, Republica Moldova, Cod Postal MD-2005