• 9,061 elderly people supported over one year of the pandemic by the Royal Margareta of Romania Foundation and its partners
• Material aid and up-to-date information about community services – the main needs of the elderly during this period
• EUR 365,000 invested in support actions for seniors between March 2020 and March 2021

 

One year ago, in March 2020, in the context of the state of emergency and the enforcement of social isolation as a preventive measure against COVID-19, the Royal Margareta of Romania Foundation launched The Fund of the Elderly, an emergency fund that addressed the needs of 9,061 single and vulnerable seniors from several regions of the country, thus contributing to managing the crisis caused by the pandemic.

The unprecedented global situation brought new challenges for the entire population, but especially for elderly people living in difficult conditions. While many seniors received moral and material support from family members or people in their social circles, in Romania nearly one third of the country’s 3.7 million elderly people faced the challenges of this period alone. For them, social isolation meant lack of access to essential services and products, and distancing deepened their sense of loneliness.

Through the national Elderly Helpline, the Foundation identified and mapped in real time the urgent needs expressed by elderly people across the country during the state of emergency, including: access to material aid (food, medicines, hygiene products), requests for information about services available in the community, home care and practical support, as well as medical information. New types of requests that emerged during this period concerned assistance with grocery shopping and psychological counseling by phone. To address part of these needs, the Royal Margareta of Romania Foundation developed new support services for the elderly and expanded its team of specialists and volunteers starting as early as March 17, 2020.

In the new social context, the Foundation launched a resource-mobilization campaign for The Fund of the Elderly and prioritized one of its core missions: contributing to improving the living standards of elderly people in Romania. To this end, the Foundation activated a network of social and support services, expanded its own projects, and supported NGOs and civic initiatives dedicated to seniors in difficulty.

The Fund of the Elderly operates through four components designed to address various needs of the elderly:

• Elderly Helpline – the only nationwide free helpline dedicated to older people;
• Community Fund – support offered to NGOs across the country to implement assistance activities for elderly people in their communities;
• Solidarity actions – material or financial aid for those living in precarious conditions;
• Volunteers for the elderly – logistical support actions carried out for the benefit of elderly people.

 

Between March 2020 and March 2021, the Elderly Helpline recorded three times more unique callers and a record number of calls. A total of 3,827 seniors had 17,684 conversations with specialized social work operators and found answers to the problems they faced. The team of social workers responded with dedication every day, listening to seniors’ concerns and identifying resources and solutions available in the community, by accessing a database of 400 public and private institutions and social service providers. Psychologists offered counseling and emotional support, while volunteers trained by the Foundation provided comfort to those who needed someone to talk to, creating ongoing phone relationships through the weekly call-back service. To cope with the record number of calls, the Elderly Helpline team—normally made up of 3 social work specialists and 15 volunteers—was expanded through the part-time involvement of 6 psychologists and the addition of 8 psychologists to the volunteer team.

The main reasons why most seniors contacted the helpline between March 2020 and March 2021 were the need for material support (1,253 requests) and the need for up-to-date information about services available in their communities (1,198 requests). Other requests concerned assistance with grocery delivery, home care and practical support, as well as medical information, emotional support, or psychological counseling. The expansion of the Elderly Helpline services was made possible with the support of Vodafone Romania Foundation, Johnson Wax, Hochland, and the National Lottery Company of Romania.

Through the Community Fund, between March 2020 and March 2021 the Foundation supported 21 NGOs carrying out activities dedicated to elderly people in 11 counties, helping 3,034 seniors. For 9 of these organizations, grants ranging between EUR 3,000 and EUR 8,000 were provided, depending on the number of beneficiaries. These grants enabled them to continue home care social services, practical in-home support, as well as material and emotional assistance for seniors affected by loneliness, physical immobility, chronic illnesses, precarious living conditions, or very advanced age. This support was also made possible thanks to partners: Orange Foundation, Alliance Healthcare, Metropolitan Life, SN Nuclearelectrica, PBG Management & Engineering, and Qualicaps Romania.

Through solidarity actions, the Foundation supported elderly people in 14 localities, providing 6,150 packages containing food, personal hygiene items, sanitary and paramedical products, protective equipment, footwear, or social vouchers. A total of 400 traditional meals and packages with food and daily necessities were offered for Easter and Christmas, with the help of City Grill, Fan Courier, Mega Image, and Avicola Buzău. Food products were donated throughout the year by Albalact, Lăptăria cu Caimac, Orkla Foods, and McDonald’s, while Alliance Healthcare, Hartmann Romania, Ecco Shoes, Sabon Holdings, and GG Diagnostica provided personal hygiene products, footwear, and protective masks, so necessary in the current conditions. Hundreds of elderly people also benefited from social vouchers or aid packages through contributions from Vodafone Romania Foundation, Hochland Romania, Kaufland Romania, and the National Lottery Company of Romania.

The Volunteer for the Elderly campaign, initiated by the Royal Margareta of Romania Foundation in March 2020 and supported by Kaufland Romania, involved 304 volunteers of all ages, from various professions and regions of the country. They responded to the Foundation’s call and took part in logistical actions to facilitate access to shopping for 2,200 elderly people. Volunteer teams from companies such as Hochland, Fan Courier, and Adobe also joined to distribute aid packages to the homes of elderly people living alone or in financial hardship.

The involvement and generosity of Romanians made it possible to invest EUR 365,000in various forms of material, practical, and emotional support for elderly people in Romania through The Fund of the Elderly. Through the fundraising campaign Avem o dragoste de dat (“We Have Love to Give”), supported by branding, communication, and media agencies Heraldist & Wondermarks, Conan PR, and Zenith Media, the Royal Margareta of Romania Foundation mobilized various types of contributions from donors, companies, and funders who wished to join efforts dedicated to lonely seniors. The public could support the elderly by sending an SMS with the text SINGUR to 8844, thus donating EUR 2 per month.

The Royal Margareta of Romania Foundation thanks its partners, sponsors, and donors through a video documentary produced by Emotions Films Production, in which director Laurențiu Tomoroga captures the loneliness of elderly people, the acute sense of alienation they experience, and the support offered by The Fund of the Elderly, which brings a ray of hope into an often dark reality.

The Fund of the Elderly program continues in 2021, and contributions can be made by SMS to 8844 with the text SINGUR to donate EUR 2 per month, or through corporate sponsorships to the account RO77BACX0000000129312250.