Romanian Children's Relief

I am a teacher at the American School of Paris(ASP) and have been taking students to Bucharest since 2002 to work with the Fundatia Inocenti/Romanian Children's Relief (RCR). In the early trips we would go for a week and work in their playrooms for abandoned children who were born and abandoned in the hospital and were waiting for placement in foster care, which could take months or years in some cases. Today the children are quickly placed, but the abandonment still happens mainly due to poverty and poor education. As a result the program has grown and now works in public schools with children who are at high risk of failing and dropping out. Now when we go we work with the program in the schools. We prepare lessons based on themes the program gives us, and our students teach their students. Usually an excellent experience for everybody. During Covid we even did short lessons via Zoom, which we have continued doing in addition to the visits.

I never thought that for over 20 years and more than 30 trips I would still have a relationship with the RCR, but it has been transformative for me as well as many of the hundreds of students who have traveled with me to Bucharest. I am inspired by the RCR staff, their professionalism, commitment and the love they give the children with whom they work. I’m always amazed how well they know their students as well as the long term relationships they have built with them. Over the many years I have worked with the program, I am also impressed at how dynamic it is and its ability to successfully evolve and grow to meet the needs of the people they serve.

Not only has the RCR helped hundreds if not thousands of children in Romania, it has also provided life changing experiences for many of ASP students who have participated on the trips. The idea of going to Bucharest the first time was not mine, but one of my 9th grade students who had been tasked with coming up with a community service project idea. That student now teaches law focusing on the needs of refugee and marginalized communities. Many of the other students who have participated on these trips have chosen to go into education, social work and healthcare as a result of their experience working with the RCR.

My journey with the Romanian Children's Relief began in 2008, when I joined as a co-trip leader with someone who would become a dear colleague and friend, and who began ASP’s story with the RCR in 2002.

I still remember the first time I walked into the Alfred Rusescu hospital and into a playroom with an orange carpet and Disney characters greeting us from the walls. Justin was the first infant I played with, stimulating his cognitive, motor and socio-emotional development through purposeful interactions- akin to the work done by caring RCR professionals, every day. Our work as volunteers shifted from 2010 when I became involved in supporting the learning of children from the CSE program through educational craft-based activities. I was continually impressed with the passion, drive and resourcefulness of the RCR staff. They translated and supported the craftsmanship needed for the activities we devised for the RCR children, and kept all students- including ASP students- engaged. They built lasting bonds with everyone involved- ASP teachers, student volunteers, and RCR children.

The RCR allows volunteers to enhance their personal commitment, empathy and meaningful interactions through joint efforts in serving children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This helps raise awareness on historical, cross-cultural and socioeconomic differences through collaborative work with the RCR staff. 16 years into the ASP-RCR story, going back every year to Romania is like going home. The greatest learning from volunteering with the RCR is that of genuine human interactions- the joy we get by recognizing familiar faces and meeting new ones; the pride we feel when hearing of the RCR children’s accomplishments and growth within the CSE program and beyond.

Witnessing firsthand the long-lasting impact of the work the RCR does in Romania is a perpetual motivator. I have volunteered in other organizations, but none have the dedication I see here- both from Mike Carroll and from the RCR’s staff and volunteers; nor did the other organizations influence career paths as the RCR did for my own students. Many of ASP's student volunteers- some with learning needs themselves- chose educational and professional paths that mirrored their trip experiences. They are working in the fields of law, healthcare, education or service work, largely because of the RCR.

There is no greater tribute to an organization than seeing how they continually inspire others, and how that impact has the power to change the world. Thank you to the Romanian Children's Relief!

Sonata Sardinha

I volunteered for Romanian Children's Relief when I was about 8 years old. I remember a beautiful room with many toys and with music. There were little children in that room that did not have parents. My parents, my brother, and I went there and played with the children. The children were different than me, some of them could not walk and some of them could not talk. But they were very happy that we played with them and some of them sang with us. I was glad to see them happy and that I could help with that.

Maybe when I am in college I will go again to Romania on summer break and play with the children that RCR is helping.

I had the privilege of working for Romanian Children’s Relief (RCR) in 1998-99. This organization provided care and education to the most vulnerable children, those living in institutions after the fall of communism. RCR began small with just a few volunteers in the U.S. and has grown and evolved as the needs of the children and families have changed. Dedicated to influencing not only the lives of individuals but also effecting change in the big picture of how abandoned children are viewed and treated. They provide much-needed everyday experiences such as holding, feeding, playing, outside activities, and holiday celebrations that these children had not experienced previously. They also provide education for their own staff and the staff of the institutions through dedicated professionals who selflessly give their time and knowledge. In addition, RCR collected medical supplies, toys, clothing, and equipment for those institutions.

At the time I was there, RCR was growing and expanding outside of Bucharest as people realized the good work they were doing. This organization is impressive in its steadfast commitment to moving control and ownership to Romania, including fundraising. Even when I was working there, they were committed to paying a living wage to local staff. I am honored to have been a small part of this organization!

Back in 2002, as part of a LEND (Leadership Education In Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Fellowship, a colleague, a physical therapist, and I, a special educator and speech/language pathologist, partnered with Romanian Children’s Relief to institute a program we designed to foster early language and physical development in institutionalized or previously institutionalized Romanian children.
RCR worked tirelessly and effectively to organize both individual and group meetings where we could interact and/or instruct direct caregivers (staff, parents, foster parents) and indirect caregivers ( social workers) both in Bucharest and Bistrita area, Romanian locations where they had previously set up programs to aid children.
Having volunteered with another NGO almost ten years prior, to work in a Romanian orphanage for children with disabilities, I was significantly impressed with the positive changes I observed in the two to three weeks with RCR, especially in their staff’s treatment of children with special needs, their movement towards supporting foster parenting, as well as the development of a group home. Overall, I believe, RCR should be congratulated and commended for working so effectively and building solid international relationships with officials, professionals, children and families as well as in the development of programs to suit a variety of needs. None of these easy tasks to achieve.

Helping children’s in Romania from 1989!!! One of the most trusted organization that put the interests of the children’s above anything else! A team of dedicated people that makes a great difference in to the lives of the most unfortunate children’s and not only!

Romanian Children’s Relief is an incredible organization that provides life changing services. I am proof of that - when I was in Orphanage Number 1 in Bucharest, I received their early intervention services and help. Ever since, I have had the opportunity to volunteer and support them. It is so moving and important to see the life changing work they do and they are an outstanding organization. Their passion, commitment and love is unmatched.

As a founding volunteer with RCR, I’ve had the privilege to watch it grow from a small group of people sending backpacks to orphanages in Romania, to becoming the model for child life programs in Romania focusing on children with special needs. Through the selfless dedication and extraordinary leadership of Mike Carroll and Eileen McHenry and the devoted staff, the organization has managed to help many thousands of the most vulnerable children and their families as well.
I am honored to be a member of the board as well as a volunteer.

Many years ago I visited the RCR in Romania, saw the work they were doing in the orphanage and have followed their remarkable adaptation to the changing needs of children. They initiated the foster home project, the hospital project, the program for special needs children. More recently when refugees from Ukraine arrived in Romania they reached out to them. The significant thing about this organization is that they involve specialists in medicine and psychology to help create appropriate responses to all these needs

I started volunteering for Romanian Children's Relief around 2005, here in the United States. I heard about the organization incidentally and I wanted to get involved because, as a native of Romania, I knew how widespread the need for a variety of services for children and families was.

The Board at the time was working really hard to raise funds here in the United States and the executive director and president were not only leading the design of programs for Romanian children and families but were also designing and implementing impressive staff development programs. I can say that RCR has not only helped many thousands of children and families but has also raised the bar on what it means to be a professional service provider in Romania. Visiting the programs moved me tremendously. The children served benefit from professional services and developmentally appropriate interactions provided not only by now highly trained staff but also by the many volunteers that RCR has mobilized not only from Romania, but also from the US and other countries.

RCR has also achieved another incredible result: fundraising now takes place primarily in Romania, rather than in the US. This is particularly impressive since, at the time RCR started to work in Romania there was no local knowledge of fundraising or non-profit management in general. The executive director and president, with the support of the Board, have successfully executed a strategy of long-term local sustainability.

I can confidently state that RCR is a truly stellar institution based on the services it provides children and families, based on the remarkable professional development it has been offering its staff, and based on the local sustainability strategy that it has so successfully implemented. Kudos and THANK YOU!

I’ve volunteered with and worked for Romanian Children’s Relief and Fundatia Inocenti for more than 30 years. My colleagues in Romania have been making life better for thousands of children in that time. It is an honor to be part of this group.

The week I moved to Romania in 2012, was the week of the ‘Hand Held’ premiere in Bucharest. The film both shocked and inspired me. I wanted to find out more about Romanian Children’s Relief and found the history of it’s development hugely moving.
I began to volunteer in one of the children’s playrooms in a Bucharest hospital and to fundraise on their behalf.
Over the years, I travelled to many of their programs in Bucharest, Cluj and Bistrita ranging from educational support, early intervention, support for disabled children and their families and playrooms helping hospitalised babies and young children. I met their inspiring staff - social workers, physiotherapists, educators and psychologists and was so impressed by their skill and dedication.
After leaving Romania after 5 years, I have continued to fundraise for this Foundation and it has been a joy to see it develop and grow. As the world has changed, RCR has had the flexibility to respond to what has been needed whether they are working with refugees of war, changing people’s perception of disability or responding to local needs as they occur. I have been so proud to see how RCR staff adapt and respond with huge sensitivity and determination.
Since it’s foundation, RCR has developed a large network of volunteers in the local communities they serve. This foresight has meant that young people have developed a social consciousness and awareness that helping others has a positive impact on the place they live.
I recommend RCR wholeheartedly and for information about their programs and history please visit their informative website.

Romanian Children's Relief is a top notch organization that helps thousands of children and families in Romania. I have been volunteering with them for over a decade and their work is inspiring. I am honored to work with the dedicated and professional staff who profoundly impact the lives of many children in Romania, including youth and families fleeing the war in Ukraine. Romanian Children's Relief is a hands on organization that treats each person with care and dignity.

Fundatia Inocenti is an incredible organization, and I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with them. Every day is a new surprise and a different challenge, but both the compassionate staff and courageous children make every day worth it. Whether we're struggling through a math problem, trying to understand impossible Romanian grammar, or feeding the tiny babies, I constantly feel like I'm making an important difference in the lives of the kids, and becoming a better person myself along the way. Would definitely recommend involving yourself with this amazing community of people.

This organization is truly phenomenal. They take such great care of the children and provide them with useful information that they will use for the rest of their life. The staff are not only wonderful teachers, but lovely people as well. I would go back and volunteer any day. It was truly a joy.

I was a graduate student in the US when I first heard of RCR - Fundatia Inocenti in 2005. In the mean time, more than 10 years passed and I moved my dreams of living in America, to give back to Romania! It's worth it because together with a great team we can do more as a group than I could have done it as an individual.
Happy to be back home for over 7 years and working for Fundatia Inocenti. I see success every day with every child and family we help. The seeds that we plant today will grow a better society!

I went on a child welfare service trip in 2012, and learned so much about the work RCR is doing! I enjoyed working with the staff and the children! RCR continues to make a difference, and continues to advocate for the Roma people!

RCR is simply an inspiring organization. RCR has and will continue to make such an impact on the most vulnerable children of Romania thanks to the incredibly smart, thoughtful, driven, dedicated, and energetic staff and volunteers.

RCR-FI is an incredible organization. I have been volunteering with them for 5 years. Their staff is well educated, empathetic, professional and extremely hard working. RCR-FI is thoughtful about their programs and resources. The teachers and therapists are wonderfully warm with every child who participates. The team knows the entire family and always tries to support them all. We traveled across country and were amazed at the outreach, warm and motivated staff members, and their dedication to always learning more (e.g. taking online classes for music therapy). I can't say enough great things about this organization and their founder and Executive Director.

I went on a service trip to a hospital in Bucharest through the RCR. It was a life changing experience. I learned about the culture and history of Romania and was inspired by their work in orphanages and hospitals. I will never forget this trip or the amazing work that the RCR does

It's been almost 10 years since I volunteered with RCR, but I went twice and loved both experiences! The work they are doing is important, heartfelt and sustainable- three of the keys to success internationally. The children are able to develop long-standing relationships, both within their community and with specific RCR supportive programs. I still think about "when I can return"!

I volunteered for Romanian Children’s Relief in 1999 then worked for RCR from 2000-2001. This was a time of great change for children in Romania, when the foster care system was being developed and implemented. Romanian Children’s Relief started the Me & My Family Together program to support children transitioning from institutional life into foster care. While many of the foster parents had raised children, they had not encountered the types of developmental delays and stereotyped behaviours associated with early childhood institutionalization.

This is where RCR came in, offering early intervention prior to and after the children’s time in the orphanage, education and support to help foster parents understand children’s development and needs, and basically anything that would make the placement work and help the children and families. At the beginning of the school year, RCR provided children with school supplies and in the winter they provided boots and coats. And children who left the institution with no language, not walking, and not making eye contact would make rapid gains in their development, blooming from the experience of being in a loving family.

Since that time, The Me & My Family Together and the two hospital-based programs have continued to evolve and meet the needs of children. The early years last forever, becoming imprinted in children’s development. The work of Romanian Children’s Relief continues to support optimal development and quality of life for the most vulnerable, for the innocents.

No charity could have more dedicated and competent direction than Mike Carroll and Eileen McHenry who, together, built this organization from its inception after personally experiencing the dire needs of the children they serve. I met Eileen in Romania in1990 where we were both adopting our daughters, and was an early volunteer when Mike, who had recently returned from writing a story on the horrific conditions in Romanian orphanages, invited a small group of people to his living room to brainstorm what we could do to help. After twenty-two years, RCR has grown into an organization that has served 2000 children with 500 volunteers. And even more impressive, the organization has developed a staff in Romania who deliver extraordinary services with equally great dedication. I have personally witnessed the excellence of RCR"s programs and continue to be inspired by the work of our staff on both sides of the Atlantic.

As a child, I did not have the benefit of an intact family, and always felt keenly the lack of a safe and loving home. I became a teacher and tried to "be there" for my students, but wondered if my help and support during the hour of high school I was able to interact with each youngster was quite enough. I was looking for a more hands on way to show my concern for the children of the world. After a Fulbright study tour of Bulgaria and Romania I came to Boston to teach, and decided to find a nonprofit working to alleviate some of the suffering I witnessed among the children in orphanages in Eastern Europe. I discovered that the story about the AIDS babies of Romania was announced first by a Boston photographer, and that he and his friends had started a nonprofit called "Romanian Children's Relief" which had been making huge inroads creating a Child Life program in Alfred Rusescu hospital in Bucharest. I went to see the executive director (no one on the board is on salary) and after many conversations, the agency agreed to let me take some high school students to work in their programs during our summer break. It was a huge undertaking--it was far away and the needs of these children felt overwhelming at first. What should we take for them? What kind of work could my students perform that would help, and would be appropriate? Would we be "in the way" or useful? Would we be so much work for the caregivers that it would only be a one-shot event? We have been returning there every year since 1998. The agency met us with caring and support at every juncture, and over time, we have become more independent as we plan our work visits. Other schools have joined our efforts, both high school and college students now visit the Bucharest site and their newer outpost in Bistrita. We hold and play with little babies who are developmentally delayed due to abandonment or neglect by their families. Poverty adds nutritional challenges to the lives of these babies. In the care of RCR workers and visitors, these children get the one on one attention that helps them grow. Many of the same caregivers we met that first year in Orphanage #1 in Bucharest, are still lovingly providing supportive care, stimulating play, and working to find foster care in country for these abandoned babies, many of whom are special needs cases. They are tireless, warm, knowledgable, and faithful. My students learn a myriad of parenting skills from them, as well as the virtue of what can be accomplished when the right motives and respectful interaction with a country's issues are central to one's efforts. Over time, RCR has changed, as the relationship with the Romanians deepened. The name is now "Fundatia Innocenti" demonstrating the infusion of Romanian energy, money, and infrastructure. Keeping children in family structures has now become paramount, so we can now do "home visits" to foster care homes as well as work in hospitals, schools, and group homes. Every time we return on our annual visits we are greeted as old friends, given meaningful work to accomplish with the children, and given updated information as to where our resources have been used most recently. Over a hundred student volunteers have traveled with me and my colleagues under the auspices of this wonderful charity, (and this is just from my one school!) We are kept abreast of the challenges and accomplishments of each year's work, and how the babies we have worked with have fared over the years. Some of the stories are sad; many are triumphs of spirit and dedication. Working with RCR has changed my own life in many ways, giving me a focus and direction for my interest in making a difference. They have trusted me, supported my work with students, helped me understand another culture, and given me hope that if one chooses a place in the world to concentrate on, I can see great changes if I am faithful to their mission. Romania is no longer a hopeless, helpless, grim sentence for tiny innocent kids. Americans cared, and learned to partner with Romanians who cared, and now there is hope. I have been privileged to be a small part of this agency's brilliant, purposeful work on behalf of the world's children, and I have been blessed by their willingness to work with what I could give as a volunteer. I will continue to work for them as long as I can be of use.

With the special occasions such as Olympics for children with disability of Innocent Foundation and the Charity Ball I had the chance to observe the parents joy and satisfaction seeing their children in the middle of the events. These children have the great opportunity through this kind of events to be remarked and helped by the community.

In my volunteer work I had known the needs of the abandoned children who participle to the literacy programs and through these they interact with the young volunteers and makes friendships.

I first met Romanian Children's Relief - Fundatia Inocenti when I was just a student in Boston in 2005. I had no idea that this NGO exists or that it does a great job working with children and families in Romania. As a Romanian leaving abroad at that time, I was impressed by the dedication of a group of people trying to help my country. When Eileen McHenry (Executive Director) asked for my help the first time I thought she was joking...I knew that every gesture can count and make a difference, but I didn't really experience it the way it happened in the U.S next with other volunteers regardless their age, profession and so on. I met extraordinary people during my staying in the US and my 3 years of volunteer with RCR. Upon my arrival at home, I had the privilege to join RCR-Fundatia Inocenti's team in Bucharest. What started as a temporary volunteer helping out in the office, turned to be a permanent job of helping children and families in need in Romania working every day with wonderful colleagues in Bucharest, Bistrita and Cluj. Today, we welcome volunteers in our program everyday and we count on their support to continue what others started many years ago. Thank you all!

I recently returned to Fundatia Inocenti in Bistrita with a group of 10 graduate students in social work as part of a service-learning class through the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. The students had a wonderful experience, in terms of the service and the educational aspects of their time in Bistrita. The staff arranged numerous educational opportunities such as speaking to representatives from other NGOs and observing the Inocenti staff in action. The students enjoyed interacting with the children in the Placement Center and doing craft projects with the older children who participate in an after school program. When one of the students lost her passport, the staff went above and beyond to assist us in making arrangements to go to the embassy in Bucharest and subsequently driving the student to another city when the passport was found. In addition to all of this, the founder of Romanian Children's Relief, Mike Carroll, spoke to my class before we left for Romania, and the Executive Director, Eileen McHenry, is flying to Boston to attend our last class. I highly recommend volunteering with Romanian Children's Relief - Fundatia Inocenti.

there's no story is reality, when God decided that you have almost everything is only natural to offer others at least a little time of your life.

As a Romanian living in the U.S. for the past twenty years, I am very proud to see that volunteerism now is flourishing from within Romania and not only as in the past - from the Western countries to help Romanian children. The Fundatia Inocenti Volunteers are Amazing and have a very BIG HEART. Thank you for all that you do for the children in Romania. I hope that with fundraising and sponsors Fundatia Inocenti can expand to other cities within Romania. ALL THE BEST IN THE FUTURE! Florina Raducanu-Uyar

I traveled to Romania from the U.S. in 2007 and 2008 to volunteer for nearly a week at RCR. The experience was amazing! I had the chance to shadow their many service providers, who are incredibly dedicated. We did an art project for the center, creating colorful pieces to be hung throughout the areas frequented by consumers. We assisted the caregivers in the infant/toddler room and played with the children there. I was consistently impressed by the quality of the care being provided and the lengths to which RCR goes to serve children in need.

July 24, 2012 our service partner Romanian Children’s Relief/ Fundatia Inocenti welcomed us at the main headquarters in Bistrita. We met with the Executive Director, Marin Mic and his team where we learned about the history of the organization. After the international exposure of the orphanages during the end of communism, the organization was developed to address the debts that children and families paid for Chiosescu. Based on the needs of the communities, programs grew to address the problem of abandoned children in the hospitals, classes for new mothers, foster families and disabled children (early intervention). Outside of the programs, the NGO hosts two annual activities, the Special Olympics and a Charity Gala.
Following the introduction, the group divided into two where some students went to tour the hospital with Maria and Laura the 
Child Life Managers. They were able to visit the playroom for children in recovery and learn the responsibility of the Social Workers. Some even had the unique experience to see two of the five abandoned babies (3 who were premature and in the a different unit of care). It was heart heavy experience. Throughout our time the organization gave us great access to their personnel to learn from experts and opportunities to explore our personal interests. Also many of us enjoyed interacting with the children in a culturally sensitive way thanks to our great training and understanding of the programs.

I have volunteered with this organization three different times, and I have thoroughly enjoyed each experience. I traveled to Romania twice (2009 and 2010) and worked in the MA office. I saw two very different parts of the country. Participating on these trips is the only time I have left the US. Given the opportunity, Romania would be the first place I visit again (with RCR). The work is incredible. There are no words to adequately describe my experience.

I went to The Rivers School (graduated '05) and traveled with RCR to Romania in '04. It was an eye-opening experience that has had a great impact on my life. RCR is an incredible organization that deserves constant praise for the work they accomplish. I hope to work with and volunteer for RCR upon completion from my MBA program in the fall. Yay for RCR!

They are organized really well. Volunteers are put right into the middle of work as soon as they arrive--- seamless. The core workers are nurses, but there are also Romanian volunteers who come in. It's a caring, wonderful place!