SOS Children’s Villages & Pepco Romania continues this year the “Charity Bears” campaign with a special collection of teddy bears for charity. On spring and Easter holidays, starting on 26 April, customers can find a unique pair of teddy bears in the Pepco range of toys. 100% of the profit from their sale goes to SOS Children’s Villages Romania.
Through this campaign, Pepco Romania will support, together with the good people who will join, over 1,000 children in SOS Children’s Villages Romania programs. These are children from 6 counties, growing up in SOS family homes or at risk of separation from their families, in hard-pressed communities. The children will be supported to go to school, participate in educational, sports, social and emotional development activities.
“We look to the future with great hope. With every child who grows and develops healthily, with every child who stays with their parents, who finishes school well, the circle of hardship closes for them and, generations from now, their lives will look very different. We have been in business for 30 years, and we have had partners without whom we would not have been able to reach over 100,000 children, young people and adults helped by our programs across the country. For the past 5 years, we have been on the road with Pepco Romania, a partnership focused on the needs of children, with a comprehensive approach to education in all its dimensions. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks on behalf of ourselves, but especially on behalf of the children and young people who have been given the chance for a fulfilling life”, says Diana Podaru, General Director SOS Children’s Villages Romania.
“Charity Bears” is a project run by Pepco since 2019, and Romania is among the first countries which adopted this initiative, which also takes place in Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Hungary. Over five years, the partnership between SOS Children’s Villages and Pepco Romania has supported the needs of more than 1,500 children and their families, with almost €500,000 invested, allocated to the development of educational activities: purchase of school supplies, clothing, hygiene products, provision of emergency medical services, therapies, excursions, leisure and sports activities, workshops for disadvantaged children and families.
“We are delighted that this year as well we are bringing the “Charity Bears” to the shelves of Romanian shops and we can bring joy to children at Easter. The bears are not only children’s friendly buddies, but also a symbol of charity, through which we support the development and education of those in difficult life situations. We are happy to continue this successful and meaningful partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, because we strongly believe that only by joining our efforts in a common goal can we make a difference to the lives of children who have had fewer opportunities so far. The bears are launched in two versions each year – in the spring/summer season and in the autumn/winter season – and stand out not only because of the message they convey. Their look often results from the creativity and involvement of local communities, when children of employees or children cared for by Pepco’s social partners are invited to create costumes, joining this beautiful initiative with passion,” says Bogdan Grigoriu, Head of Region at Pepco Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.
