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Blog Post
RTN $1,000 Microgrant
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Funds Sources: Romanian United FoundationĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
Project Name: RTNĀ Grant
Starting Date: November, 2024
Financing: Completed
Project Status: Finished
Financed by RUF: $1,000
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Short Description:
Romanian United Foundation (RUF) has pledged a $1,000 grant to Romanian Christian Television (RCT) in recognition of its 30th Anniversary and its continued commitment to uplifting and connecting the Romanian Diaspora.
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Details:
Since its founding in 1994 under the leadership of Petru Amarei, RCT has been a vital platform for Romanian communities worldwide, fostering connections, supporting businesses, and amplifying the work of nonprofit organizations. RCTās dedication to advancing the development and cohesion of the diaspora aligns closely with RUFās mission to empower changemakers and create a strong, connected global community.
This partnership embodies a shared vision of strengthening the cultural and social identity of the Romanian Diaspora, highlighting impactful initiatives while fostering collaboration among organizations, and promoting unity to advance the progress of Romania and its global communities.
In recognition of this grant, RCT has generously offered an in-kind donation valued at $1,000 to both RUF and ROCO, designating them as Bronze Sponsors for RCTās 30th Anniversary Fund. This collaboration underscores the power of working together to support shared goals.
RUF is proud to partner with RCT in its efforts to strengthen the bonds within the Romanian Diaspora, fostering a thriving and connected global community.
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Blog Post
Learn to Succeed Benevity Campaign $12,415
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Funds Sources: Education Campaign
Project Name: Learn to succeed
Link: Benevity Fundraiser
Community Partner: United Way Romania (Profile |Ā WebsiteĀ )
Starting Date: ongoing project
Financing: Targeting $30,000
Project Status: OPENĀ
Total Project Budget: $100.000 (incl. non-RUF sources)Ā ā with this sum we are able to offer support for one year to 315 children, 125 parents, and 60 teachers.
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Learn more about our 2021 Learn to Succeed Campaign.
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Ā DonateĀ Ā Learn more
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Short Description:
āLearn to succeedā is United Way Romaniaās educational program, which fights school abandonment in poor urban and rural communities, where the childrenās education is not a priority, but the struggle to find resources to survive another day.
The program has an integrated model, where actions are built around children's needs, however parents, teachers, volunteers and local non-governmental associations work together to solve the problem of school dropout, which is not one of the child, but of the entire community.
By covering all the needs of the children, material, educational, and even offering parental support, the program has a major impact on the children`s lives. Thus, children's chances of breaking the barriers of poverty and having a positive impact on the community increase significantly.
The results of the project help us create enduring changes, at the child and family level, yet additionally at the local area level.
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Program details:
"Learn to Succeed" aims to improve children's lives through access to education, and its main objectives are:
- Increasing the school presence of children from vulnerable backgrounds;
- Improving the school situation of children in the program through tutoring and mentoring activities;
- Improving the teaching and empathy skills of teachers working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds;
- Increasing the number of adolescents who continue their education and prepare to enter the labor market;
- Developing awareness of the importance of education at the level of parents.Ā
Main activities:
- Providing after school programs for children
- Providing school materials and financial support for children
- Training for teachers
- Support with tutors and volunteers
- Training for parents
How can one help
You too can help change the life of one vulnerable child for the better by providing the much-needed support to continue education:
Here is the impact of your donation:
- $100 - offers help with homework and access to educational activities for a group of 15 children for one week;
- $75 - provides a set of warm clothes for autumn and winter to a vulnerable child;
- $50 - offers a complete set for school supplies (supplies 35$+ backpack 15$);
- $35 - covers the cost for a pair of winter shoes;
- $20 - provides a warm meal for one child for a week.
Together we can continue the fight against school dropouts!
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Blog Post
Biomentorhub $1,100
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Funds Sources: Romanian United Fund
Project Name: BiomentorhubĀ Grant
Partner: BiomentorubĀ (šĀ website)
Starting Date: October, 2023
Financing: Completed
Project Status: Finished
Financed by RUF: $1,100
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Short Description:
The project aims to tackle several key issues: first, the limited connectivity and collaboration among Romanian young specialists aged 25-35 in the bioscience and biomedicine fields who pursued their studies and careers abroad. Second, the lack of information within the Romanian scientific diaspora regarding the current state of the biotech, medtech, and pharma sectors in Romania, as well as professional and funding opportunities. Third, the absence of multi-disciplinary networking opportunities for researchers, medical professionals, tech experts, and business development specialists, crucial roles in biotech startups. Fourth, the need for collaborative workspaces with lab facilities for biotech startups in Romania. Lastly, addressing the shortage of biotech startups in the country.
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Details:
The inaugural 4BiOMed event in London is set to gather 30 participants. We anticipate approximately 100 beneficiaries, encompassing current Biomentorhub association members and mentors (50) and individuals joining the 4BiOMed community in the following month, engaging on a dedicated platform for cross-disciplinary collaboration. The replication of the 4BiOMed model in other diaspora locations like New York and ZĆ¼rich, as outlined in the impact section, will further increase the beneficiary count. Estimating the contribution of beneficiaries to the project activities in Romania will be conducted after the event, considering the outcomes.
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Blog Post
Glittery School, Sep 2022-July 2023, $10,235
Funds Sources: Education Campaign
Project Name: Glittery School
Link: Facebook Fundraiser
Community Partner: Noi Orizonturi (Profile |Ā WebsiteĀ )
Starting Date: ongoing project
Financing: FINANCED
Project Status:Ā OPEN
Financed by RUF: $10,235
RUF matching fund: $2,000 Ā
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Short Description:
Glittery School is a project for supporting children that struggle with reading and writing basic competencies to make progress and reduce the learning gap.
Every child in Romania should be able to write and read when they finish fourth grade. It shouldn't be a dream, but unfortunately, nearly 2 out of 3 children from vulnerable families end up at school as poor readers.
Help us change this and equip them with age-appropriate books and the schools they attend.
We took the first step four years ago with the Glittery School project. Since then, we have been offering them an online library, educational materials, and professional training for teachers. Now, just like last year, we want to take the next step and with you to fill the library shelves of 15 rural schools with books that will grow good readers!
Because without beautiful books we don't have good readers either.
And we will work with the 15 schools to organize summer schools to help 350 students in preparatory grade accelerate reading. Over ten days of Summer School, children will go through activities drawn around these books, carefully selected by our experts, suitable for beginner readers.
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Details
The project is in its fourth year of development, with the intention of scaling specialized literacy interventions among disadvantaged communities
Scoala cu scLipici/Glittery School - Glittery Schools - a project to support children who have reading-writing difficulties to help them make progress and reach their grade level.
The Glittery School project aims to support Preparatory Grade and Grade 1 disadvantaged students in 100 schools all over Romania to develop their literacy skills to perform at grade level. We address children from communities with socio-economic and educational problems and schools that perform well below average on national assessments.
In order to provide real support to students, we address the needs of primary school teachers to develop their literacy teaching skills for children who come to school without the basic prerequisites - we respond to the need for evidence-based teacher training for teaching reading and writing, in areas such as teaching phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding as well as comprehension, the need for quality resources and educational materials for emergent and early literacy skills development in the primary grades. We provide teachers and students with the literacy kit "All children read ā A Good Start in Perparatory Grade", an educational material developed and piloted by Noi Orizonturi Foundation in the 2021-2022 academic year, as support in the development of literacy skills. Students receive the printed version of the childrenās books and worksheets from the literacy kit.
We will also address the relevant stakeholders in education and the general public so that they become aware of the need to develop children's emergent and early literacy skills, the need for quality (initial and continuous) teacher education.
The project is in its fourth year of development, with the intention of scaling specialized literacy interventions among disadvantaged communities.In the summer of 2023, we support the running of 15 "Summer Schools with scLipici" for 350 children in the preparatory class in vulnerable communities in Romania. We invite schools through interested preparatory class teachers who have gained experience in the Schools with scLipici program this school year to apply in order to be supported to organize a 10-day summer camp. We are particularly targeting those children in the preparatory class who were assessed with the Emergent Literacy Assessment Tool both at the start of the program and at the end of the school year and who were found to need additional support to progress in reading and writing and during the holiday summer.
We prepare each team school to design, plan, organize, mobilize resources to run a summer school to accelerate the development of literacy skills in children left behind. The training sessions are led by one educational expert who provides the agenda and new contributions (strategies, implementation models, feedback on teachers' plans) and facilitates discussions. Each team is assisted in the preparation of summer schools. eg: mentoring for each summer school, signing award contracts, organizing participants, preparing the agenda, coordinating and training the extended local teams, etc. Winning teams benefit from a set of books and learning materials and a 85 lei/student budget to cover meals and/or transportation and/or supplies for children to the summer school.
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Blog Post
Colina Learning Center $140,000
Funds Sources: Romanian United Fund
Project Name: Colina Learning Center Grant
Partner: Colina Learning CenterĀ (šĀ website)
Starting Date: July, 2023
Financing: Completed
Project Status: Finished
Financed by RUF: $100,000Ā
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Short Description:
Our unwavering mission is to ensure that every child's unique needs and pathways are met, empowering them to confidently embrace their future lives. We are preparing our learners for their futures, not our past.
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Details:
The Colina Learning Center exists as a powerful catalyst for change, driven by the belief that there is a better way to educate children in Romania and beyond. As a non-profit organization, we strive to reimagine traditional school systems, forging deep learning partnerships between parents and the school. By harnessing the transformative power of technology, we reshape curriculum, teaching methods, learning approaches, and assessment models. Through innovation and collaboration, we are revolutionizing education and paving the way for a brighter tomorrow.
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Blog Post
Rockland Romanian Task Force (RTF) for Future Acceleration Program in Cluj County
Funds Sources: Rockland Romania Task Force(RTF)
Project Name: Future Acceleration ProgramĀ - Cluj County
Community Partner: UiPath FoundationĀ (Profile |Ā WebsiteĀ )
Starting Date: Ongoing
Financing: PENDING
Project Status: In Progress
Total Project Budget: $60,000
Financed by RUF:
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Short Description:
The Future Acceleration Program project'sĀ focus on identifying children from communities that experience poverty and exclusion in Romania and India (aged 11 to 16) and activate their potential through a long ā term 360-degree support system that addresses the challenges of child deprivation.
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Details
The Future Acceleration Program is the flagship intervention at UiPath Foundation and it focuses on enabling underprivileged children, aged 11 to 16, to access their inner courage to understand and develop their potential.Ā
They have built a holistic approach that nurtures children's educational motivation and takes the burden of poverty and marginalization through a 360 degrees package of support.
Through this program, together with their strategic partners in the areas where they intervene ā in Romania: Bucharest, Ferentari (Policy Center for Roma and Minorities), GalaČi County (InimÄ de copil Foundation), Vaslui County (BunÄ Ziua, Copii din RomĆ¢nia Association), BotoÅani County (Pro Patrimonio Foundation) and Cluj County, and in India,: Bangalore (Dream a Dream) - they provide children enrolled in the program with an integrated long-term support package, which responds to the challenges and shortcomings they face.
This package consists of monthly scholarships, educational activities, clothes, stationery items, medical services, and the digital equipment they need to participate in the online activities.
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Blog Post
2023 International Robotics Championship USA $7,500
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Funds Sources: Aventi Health
Project Name: 2023 International Robotics Championship, USA
Partner: AutoVortex RomaniaĀ (Profile |Ā WebsiteĀ )
Starting Date: April, 2023
Financing: Completed
Project Status: Finished
Total Project Budget: $15,000
Financed by RUF: $7,500
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Short Description:
AutoVortex Romania qualified to participate with the fighting robot, Robowave, to the International Robotics Championship in Huston TX.
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Details:
The AutoVortex Romania team traveled to the US to participate in the International Robotics Championship. They won the Finalist Alliance Award for playing in the Edison division finals, and the special Control Award for the best robot programming, Robowave.Ā
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Blog Post
Connecting Valea BistriČei $83,004
Funds Sources: RUF donor
Project Name: Connecting Valea Bistritei
Community Partner:Ā Ā Station Europe (Profile |Ā WebsiteĀ )
Starting Date:Ā June 2022
Financing: FINANCED
Project Status:Ā Finished
Total Project Budget:Ā $83,004
Financed by RUF: $83,004
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Project in Numbers:
- 8 months of project implementation
- 7 activities for the local community in the region of Valea Bistritei coordinated by Station Europe
- 275 direct beneficiaries: children and young people from the community
- 5000+ people from the region were exposed to the project and learned about preserving their natural environment
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Short Description:
Together with Valea Bistritei Foundation, we intend to recruit, train, and mobilize around 60 children and young people from these rural communities. Those will learn about their natural environments and the know-how to preserve them. We wish to achieve this by connecting them to both nature and social platforms. In short, we want to create an army of informed young people and children, aware and trained on how to do good around them.
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Details:
Children and young people from rural communities in Romania have difficulty connecting with nature's necessities and understanding its potential and how to take care of it.Ā With this project, we seek to support and empower children and young people from Pestisani and Valea Bistritei (Gorj), rural communities from Romania rich in natural resources and beautiful landscapes, to act and stand for their natural environments. Encouraging them to be active in their community is vital for promoting life-long civic participation. We aim to do this by supporting the Valea Bistritei Foundation to connect to and train the young generations to raise their voices on issues that matter to them. In fact, through a basic understanding of the situation, they will be empowered to find solutions to their local problems, thus becoming local ambassadors of the Foundationās initiatives.
We will work on the project through two main pillars:
- Encouraging young people and children to be active in their local communities from Valea Bistritei and Pestisani;
- Empowering the local actors - Valea Bistritei Foundation - to become a stronger organization engaging the local community in meaningful conversations about its present and future.
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Blog Post
Greg Cole Fundraiser For The Kids
Funds Sources: Fundraiser through RUF WebsiteĀ
Project Name: I'm fundraising for the kids
Link: Donate Greg Cole
Community Partner: UiPath FoundationĀ (Profile |Ā WebsiteĀ )
Starting Date: March 2023
Financing: PENDING
Project Status: In Progress
Total Project Budget: $9,000
Financed by RUF:
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Short Description:
The project initiated by Greg Cole, a Principal Business Analyst at UiPath US, aims to raise funds to cover full year scholarship for 10 kids enroled in the UiPath Foundation educational program by the start date of the triathlon, May 14th, where Greg will participate.
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Details
For the next 3 months, he will make it his personal challenge to raise awareness and funds for 10 amazing kids in Romania.
The challenge is completing an Olympic Triathlon in May 2023. He will Run Swim, and Bike for UiPath Foundation to raise awareness and funds for 10 underprivileged kids enrolled in UiPath Foundationās educational programs.
"These young minds deserve access to quality education and I'm not stopping until I cross that finish line. Growth only happens when you're challenged. Kids living in poverty don't have access to basic human needs like medical care, education, and even clothing. That's why I'm committed to making a difference." - Greg Cole