- Over 500 elderly people benefit this year from dedicated support actions through projects run by The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation
- Food packages, social gatherings, social vouchers, intergenerational activities, and recitals offered to vulnerable elderly people.
The joy of Easter once again reaches the homes and hearts of elderly people facing difficult life circumstances, beneficiaries of the social projects carried out by The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation – The Fund for the Elderly and The Elderly Helpline. Through material aid and social support initiatives organized thanks to the generosity of partners, donors, and volunteers, the Foundation aims to improve the quality of life of vulnerable elderly people and restore dignity to elderly people in advanced age.
130 Elderly People Living Alone in Bucharest and Across the Country Received Food Packages or Social Vouchers
Volunteers in Bucharest supported elderly people facing hardship, beneficiaries of The Fund for the Elderly and The Elderly Helpline, by delivering aid packages directly to their homes and providing social vouchers for those with low incomes, as well as through social visits meant to bring them joy. At the same time, 30 elderly people from across the country, living in precarious conditions and beneficiaries of The Elderly Helpline social service, received social vouchers worth 200 RON.
On Wednesday, April 5, around 30 volunteers left the Foundation’s headquarters to visit the homes of elderly people in Bucharest, bringing holiday gifts, festive treats, warm words of encouragement, and a ray of light into their life stories. Volunteers were welcomed with great joy, trust, and hope by elderly people who, year after year, feel increasingly alone and less visible in the community. A holiday message remained in each home, written on greeting cards created especially for them during an intergenerational workshop at the Generations Community Centre in District 6.
Mrs. Floarea is one of the elderly people who received a visit from the Foundation’s volunteers. She is 74 years old and has spent every holiday alone since losing her husband and both children. With a very small pension and costly medical conditions, she had to sell the home where she had lived her happiest moments in order to pay her debts, moving with the few belongings she had left to the Ferentari neighborhood. There, she now struggles through the later years of her life. For many years, she has found emotional and material support through The Fund for the Elderly project: “It helps me so much. It seems that exactly when I have nothing left to put on the table, the package arrives. That’s always how it happens. I’m grateful not only for what comes, but also for having someone to talk to until my heart feels full. I thank the entire team very much,” says Mrs. Floarea.
300 Elderly People in Iași, Mureș, and Bucharest Supported Through Local Partner Organizations
Material and emotional support during the Easter holidays was also provided to nearly 300 elderly people in Bucharest, Iași, and Reghin through local initiatives carried out by organizations receiving grants for this purpose. Elderly people with low incomes who were unable to meet their basic care needs received food and hygiene products at home. Elderly people wishing to socialize were invited to participate in creative workshops, handicraft activities, English language sessions, and board games within community centres.
70 Elderly People from Three Residential Centres Enjoyed Classical Music Recitals
Palm Sunday was also celebrated in three residential centres for elderly people, through classical music recitals held at the “Sf. Ana” Care and Assistance Centre for elderly people (DGASPC District 3), Edano Residence (District 2), and the Enayati Residential Centre for elderly people. Scholars of the Young Talents program of The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation who took part in this initiative were just as moved as the resident elderly people by these special moments that brought life and color into the centres. Numerous studies conducted over the years have shown that music is therapy not only for the soul or loneliness, but also a powerful stimulus for the senses.
Another 30 Elderly People in Bucharest Took Part in an Easter Social Meal
Another 30 elderly people, who have found comfort through The Elderly Helpline, were invited on Tuesday, April 11, to gather as part of the family they have (re)discovered at the Foundation, for a social Easter meal meant to restore the joy of the holiday season. For many elderly people, this type of interaction is a rare opportunity to step out of the routine of lonely days and feel part of a community. The meal was donated by customers of the City Grill restaurant network through the “Out for Food” application, supporting Easter celebrations for elderly people living alone.
Elderly People Need Our Support
Romania’s population includes 3.72 million elderly people aged 65 and over, of whom approximately 1 million live alone. More than 600,000 retired elderly people survived in 2022 on a monthly pension of no more than 1,111 RON—below a decent standard of living. Many elderly people around us face real hardship, affected by the loss of loved ones, helplessness, material deprivation, chronic illness, or social isolation.
Elderly people experiencing difficult situations or suffering from social isolation can call The Elderly Helpline – 0800 460 001 – the only national, free, and confidential telephone line dedicated to elderly people in need of information, social counseling, and relief from loneliness.
Individuals or companies wishing to support elderly people may do so by:
- •Sending an SMS with the text SINGUR to 8844 to donate 2 Euro per month.
- Redirecting 3.5% of income tax through Form 230
- Sponsorship with 20% of annual corporate profit tax or quarterly income tax
The social programs dedicated to elderly people and humanitarian actions are supported by funding partners Alliance Healthcare, SC Johnson Wax Romania, Toreto SRL, and CICH, as well as product sponsors City Grill, Boromir, Lăptăria cu Caimac, Mega Image, Ferrero, Albalact, and the Finastra team.
We thank everyone who, in moments like these and beyond, chooses to stand by those in need, and we wish you holidays filled with serenity and inner peace.
