SOS Children’s Villages & Pepco Romania partnership: On Easter, the “Teddies of Good Deeds” campaign supports more than 1,000 children

Bucharest, April 26: SOS Satele Copiilor & Pepco Romania continue this year the “Good Deeds Bears” campaign, with a special collection of teddy bears for charitable purposes. On the occasion of the spring and Easter holidays, starting from April 26, store customers can find a unique pair of teddy bears in the Pepco toy range. 100% of the profit obtained from their sale is directed to SOS Children’s Villages Romania.

Through this campaign, Pepco Romania will support, together with the good people who will join, more than 1,000 children in the programs of SOS Children’s Villages Romania. These are children from 6 counties, who grow up in SOS family homes or are at risk of being separated from their families, in hard-to-try communities. Children will be supported to go to school, participate in educational, sports, socialization 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 completes school well, the circle of hardship closes for them and, generations from now, their lives will look completely different. In the last 5 years, I have been on the road with Pepco Romania, a partnership oriented towards the needs of children, with a complex approach to education, in all its dimensions. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts on behalf of us, but, above all, of the children and young people who received the chance for a fulfilled life”, says Diana Podaru, Director General of SOS Children’s Villages Romania.

“Good Deeds Bears” is a project carried out by Pepco since 2019, and Romania is among the first countries to adopt this initiative, which also takes place in Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary. Over the course of five years, the partnership between SOS Satele Copiilor and Pepco Romania supported the needs of over 1,500 children and their families, with almost 500,000 euros invested, allocated to educational activities: the purchase of supplies, clothing, hygiene products, the provision of urgent medical services, therapies, excursions, leisure and sports activities, workshops for disadvantaged children and families.

“We are delighted that again this year we are bringing the “Good Deeds Bears” to the store shelves in Romania and we can bring joy to the children at Easter. Teddy bears are not only children’s friendly companions, but also a symbol of charity, through which we support the development and education of those in a difficult life situation. We are happy to continue this successful and meaningful partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, because we firmly believe that only by joining our efforts for a common goal can we bring about a change in the way of life of children who until now had few chances. The bears are released in two versions each year – in the spring/summer season and in the autumn/winter season – and stand out because of the message they convey and the unique design of each collection.”, says Bogdan Grigoriu, Head of Region at Pepco Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.

Pepco Group

The Pepco Group was established in 2015 and comprises a network of stores in the retail sector, which includes Pepco, Dealz and Poundland, and collaborates with PGS, a global supplier. Currently, Pepco Group owns more than 4,800 stores in 21 countries and has approximately 47,000 employees.

Pepco

Pepco is one of the largest value retailers in Europe, offering clothes for the whole family and home goods at very attractive prices. After nearly 20 years of steady growth, Pepco stores are visited by customers making 30 million transactions per month. The company, headquartered in Poznań, currently has more than 30,000 employees in 18 countries across Europe and a network of more than 3,600 stores.

SOS Children’s Villages Romania

SOS Children’s Villages Romania offers a loving family to children who are left without parental care and supports and protects those who are at risk of losing it. At the national level, the association runs alternative child care programs (SOS Villages, Youth Communities, Foster Care), family strengthening (Community Assistance Services, Counseling and Support Center for Children and Parents, Day Center), educational (SOS Planet Afterschool), as well as a series of projects for young people at risk, both from the protection system and from vulnerable environments. From 2022, SOS Children’s Villages also implements programs dedicated to families in Ukraine.

SOS Satele Copiilor Romania is considered by the national and local public authorities to be one of the models of good practice in the field of child protection and is one of the initiators of the model of family-type homes in Romania, of counseling and support centers for children and parents in the communities and programs that emphasize training independent life skills for young people in the protection system and beyond.