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Blog Post
Who am I? - Documenting Romanian Immigration to the US
Funds Sources: Fundraising Campaign, Facebook Fundraiser
Project Name: Who am I?
Diaspora Partner: HORA (Profile | Website )
Starting Date: January 2023
Project Status: In Progress
Project Budget: $15,000
Financed Amount: N/A
Donate to the project
Short Description:In January 2021, HORA (Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in MN) started working on the third project documenting Romanian Immigration in Minnesota. This follows the previous two projects that focused on the beginning of Romanian immigration in Minnesota (“A Thousand Dollars and Back,” made in collaboration with RGS, nominated for a regional Emmy award in 2015) and the immigration during the communist era (“Through the Iron Curtain- from Romania”).
The current project's goal is to explore the issue of identity with first and second-generation immigrants. The exploration is done through candid interviews between parents and their teenage or adult children about love, loss, career, trauma, hopes and dreams, and the ancestral "dor," longing in English translation. These documentaries are the first to focus on Romanian Immigration to the United States. We hope our work encourages other organizations to start documenting Romanian immigration stories and preserve our cultural heritage.
The $15K will cover the costs for the documentary script, which is needed before applying for more grants in 2023 to complete the documentary.
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Blog Post
RDFN Donors Circle 2022, November 2022, $2,000
Funds Sources: RUF Pledge Your Birthday
Project Name: Donors Circle
Community Partner: RDFN (Profile)
Starting Date: 11/2022
Matching Funds: $2,000
Project Status: CLOSED
Short Description:
On November 17th, the Romanian diaspora from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, and the USA gathered for the second edition of the Romanian Diaspora Funding Network (RDFN) Donors' Circle, an online event where to support 3 organizations that are constantly working for change.
RUF provided $2,000 in matching funds and helped raise over $10,000 for the supported projects.
🔵 Caravana Terapeutica (Tent Therapy project) is Romania's only mobile psychotherapy practice. The team's objective is to promote psychotherapy and change the general perception of the need to see a psychologist. Visitors have the chance to talk freely with specialists, have access to support and information materials about anxiety, depression, etc. and benefit from two free psychotherapy sessions with psychologists from the cities where the Caravan operates.
🔵 The "Școli cu scLipici" project of the New Horizons Foundation aims to support 130 preparatory and first-grade pupils to develop the minimum literacy skills (writing-reading) aimed at their class/age level. It targets children from socio-economically and educationally disadvantaged communities and schools with below-average results in national assessments.
🔵 MamaPan - The bakery with Maia has been providing vocational training in the bakery trade and decent jobs to women in difficult life situations for over 7 years: mothers raising their children alone, Roma mothers, mothers who have had no access to formal education or vocational training, etc. In order to be able to continue its work, the bakery proposes to relocate to a new space, which would optimize its operating costs and also allow for a place where MamaPan can sell its products directly.
RDFN is a philanthropic network of 8 diaspora groups and organizations, including the Brussels Donors Circle. We bring together and support Romanians in the diaspora to contribute, through philanthropy, to change for Romania, providing support and resources to civil society at home. Since 2017, we have raised over 116,000 euros, supported 35 projects, and mobilized hundreds of donors in 12 Diaspora Donor Circles. The first edition of the RDFN Donors' Circle took place in June 2021, with over 100 donors supporting 3 projects in Romania with €14,000.
