Dear colleague,
We would like to thank you for supporting the EU Staff COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Together, we have already raised over €212,000 for the fund. In this newsletter, you can read more about the projects your donations are contributing to.
If you have not already set up a monthly donation, you can now do so here (by card). If you prefer to arrange a direct debit through your bank, you can find the details here. We suggest a monthly donation of 2% of your salary, but any amount will be most welcome!
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Spreading the word
An article on the EU Staff COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was published through Commission en direct. In the article, members of the Management Committee of the fund, Nikos, Elena and Bruno explain the motivation behind the initiative and the role of King Baudouin Foundation.
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"We are aware that many colleagues are already donating to charities in their local communities or their home countries, and we respect and appreciate that. We want to add to these efforts and build something truly European, directed at the communities most in need, channelled through the expertise of a trusted organisation with an extensive network."
Elena Montani (DG ENV)
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"Using their European network of national foundations, the King Baudouin Foundation carries out crucial research in order to identify the most pressing needs on the ground. With their help, we can select trustworthy organisations to support, allowing the fund to make a real difference to the most vulnerable in particular."
Bruno Mola (DG REGIO)
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Have you joined the discussion on Commission en direct yet? Have you shared the article with a colleague?
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The first round of donations focused on projects in Italy and Spain. A second round of donations has now been disbursed to projects in Romania, Portugal and Greece.
When selecting suitable candidates, the Committee is taking into consideration the burden of disease (based on the number of active cases per 1 million inhabitants), the burden of the measures on the economy (as projected in the Commission's Spring Economic Forecast), and the relative wealth of countries (as indicated by GDP per capita).
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Fighting period poverty in Romania
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Did you know that around 25% of Romania's population is living at risk of poverty (Eurostat) and that women are more vulnerable to poverty than men are?
One of the latest donations for the EU Staff COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was €10,000 to Pe Stop, and organisation based in Bucharest. Pe Stop helps vulnerable groups as they face the disastrous aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
The women and girls supported by Pe Stop are either homeless, taking cover in sewers and public places, or they live in shelters at the edge of the city, occupy abandoned houses or live in ghettos. The pandemic has meant a loss of the majority of their income. With little or no access to quality menstrual products and running water, their period can become an additional risk to these women’s health.
With this donation, Pe Stop will be able to provide 4 month’s worth of masks, hand sanitiser and menstrual products to 350 impoverished women and girls between the ages of 10 and 55.
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Giving access to learning tools
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This spring, many children have had to rely on digital means to connect with their teachers and peers. But how do you keep up if you don’t have a computer or even access to the internet?
In Portugal, the project Student Keep is providing IT equipment to children and young people without access to a computer. So far, 1140 devices have been delivered through the project.
A donation of €10,000 was made from the EU Staff COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, joining the ‘Keepers’ helping Student Keep gather the IT equipment needed.
If you want to read more about this and other projects your donations are supporting, go to our website.
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