I adopt a kindergarten! movement

Nominated 2021

Country: Hungary

Region: Implemented nationwide

Sector: Civil Society / Social Economy

Fields of action: Poverty, Youth welfare, Early childhood education

Project owner: Örökbe Fogadok Egyesület / "I Adopt" Association

Responsible person: Barát Hella

Website: Weblink

Challenge

“We had to call the ambulance for a 3-year-old in our kindergarten because both his feet were frozen”, this is a quote from a kindergarten with children from disadvantaged communities in 2019. There are tens of thousands of young children in Hungary living in poverty who find safety in their kindergarten with heat and food.

Idea

We connect two communities – people who have a surplus of high-quality goods at home and children in need – with a beneficial solution through local kindergarten teachers. The goods are donated and delivered by a zero waste local courier. I adopt a kindergarten! Movement (“Örökbe fogadok egy ovit! Mozgalom”) directly channels help into the lives of 40,000 children through their kindergartens.

Actors

We invite schools to join the project. Our organization also conducts in-depth interviews and assesses their needs. The donors are familiar with the schools’ needs based on this information. The donors are not seen as providers but as partners. We also inform people about our work through social media campaigns and articles.

Impact

Everyone benefits! As one donor shared, “it is primarily good for me to make things disappear from my apartment, while it is good to help someone else with it.” The programme offers a zero waste solution to help others. The donations are guaranteed to reach the children through their teachers.

Transfer

The programme can be fully transferred to other places. In every country, there are people who want to donate their high-quality goods and people in need, who can be reached through local schools.