The Hungarian Reformed Church aid launched a family support campaign: large families, parents raising children alone or caring for children at home, and elderly people in need can benefit from regular support to help cover their everyday needs.
The Hungarian Reformed Church aid launched a family support campaign: large families, parents raising children alone or caring for children at home, and elderly people in need can benefit from regular support to help cover their everyday needs.
The economic consequences of the pandemic left many in difficult situation. HRCA considers it important to provide innovative solutions to help families to bear the burden of the crisis.
The Donation Card Program
The aim is to provide families with difficult circumstances with a prepaid card with a budget corresponding to the contribution of the donors. The amount can be used according to individual needs, for example food, hygiene products, medicine and to top up the utility meters. The novelty of the scheme for donors is that they can also learn about the history of the person in need and the source of their financial problems, and use this information to decide which families they want to help.
Anyone can join the Donation Card Program as a donor. In the first round, people can learn about the stories of 14 large families in financial difficulty. New family stories will be added to the site each month.
“Each year we receive thousands of letters asking for help, and it can be observed that the Coronavirus pandemic has reduced the possibilities of families in difficult financial situations to provide for the basic needs,” said Balázs Lutár, the professional director of HRCA.
“We launched the pilot version of our program during the second wave of the Coronavirus, the for a 3-month period. For 120 families the monthly 10.000 HUF helped them to cover part of their daily needs.”
“We are confident, that with the help of donors we will be able to provide quick and effective assistance to families in difficult situations whose basic needs are threatened,” added the social professional.
Families in the program have been contacted through HRCA’s charity work. In addition to the financial support from donors, the families can also count on the professional help of the mentors of the charity on social life skills and financial issues. Mentors work with the families to define the goal that needs to be achieved through the support. The total amount of aid is transferred by HRCA to the account number of the prepaid card provided in the program, either in monthly installments or in one lump sum, depending on the objective. The role of mentors is particularly important, as the aim is to enable the families participating in the program to become self-sufficient in the future.