2008: Everychild Program – We partnered with Hospice Casa Sperantei Brasov and awarded our largest ever single grant of $100,000 for a collaborative project that totaled $236,000. Through this project, the two foundations reached and treated 286 children suffering from HIV and other chronic illnesses who were moving in and out of state-run institutions. In addition, 250 medical staff members, including doctors and nurses, benefited from training courses and workshops in palliative care, while 1900 children received education about HIV prevention. Most significantly, a model of palliative care has been established that can be replicated in other parts of the country. In March of 2008, the Romanian Ministry of Health worked with Hospice Casa Sperantei to further develop the model we co-authored and establish a National Plan for Palliative Care. We believe that due to this program the Romanian government is now much better informed about the needs of chronically ill individuals and is able to continue to support the allocation of resources with more generosity and efficiency toward those in need of palliative care.
2004: The Rupea Playground – We built a state of the art sports court and playground at Rupea placement center, in the Brasov region, where 75 children ages 4 to 18 had only a muddy lot to play on. The project cost $32,000 and the inauguration took place during president Stefania Magidson and VP Fundraising Mike Costache’s visit to the site, on October, 2004.
2003: The Loving Arms Programs – We hired eight full-time qualified caregivers to hold and cuddle babies at the “Micul Print” orphanage in Brasov, where 200 children under the age of 3 had only one adult for every 10 children to care for them.
Additionally, we sent over 500 kilograms of new toys and clothing from Los Angeles to various placement centers in the Brasov region. The cost of the program was $18,360 and it lasted from January 2004 until June 2005, when the Romanian government, with help from the EU, relocated all abandoned children under the age of 3 to more intimate environments with more adequate child-caregiver ratios.
