Romanian Christmas tree charity auction returns in December to raise funds for vulnerable children

The 22nd edition of the Christmas Tree Festival (Festivalul Brazilor de Craciun) will be held at the Romanian National Art Museum in Bucharest on December 9. The event pleads for access to education for vulnerable Romanian children or refugee children from Ukraine.

A total of 22 unique Christmas trees, created by designers and artists, will be auctioned at next month's event.

"Here we are in a complicated year in which Romanians have shown boundless generosity that has been praised around the world: since the start of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, we have relied on people's support to be able to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to children who were fleeing the war, sometimes on foot. This edition of the Christmas Tree Festival will tell the story of this solidarity, that's why the funds collected will support access to education for children vulnerable due to poverty and war. This way, we learn the lesson that children give us: good cannot be discriminatory," said Gabriela Alexandrescu, Executive President of Save the Children Romania.

Last year, the charity event raised EUR 764,000 by auctioning 26 designer Christmas trees created especially for the event. The highest-selling tree was the one created by Omid Gannadi and Inside Academy - EUR 110,000 offered by Kaufland Romania.

Total funds of EUR 6.51 million were raised at the previous 20 editions of the Christmas Tree Festival, and 112,285 children from precarious social backgrounds were reintegrated socially and educationally.

According to official data, Romanian children are the most exposed in Europe to the risk of severe poverty. According to Save the Children Romania, for more than 1.5 million children in the country (41.5%), parents cannot cover the costs of healthy food, quality education and urgent medical treatments. The rate of severe material deprivation has increased over the past year among the general population, from 24.8% to 25.6%, but the increase is dramatic among children – from 27.1% to 31% and, for children under 6, from 23.4% to 29.6%.

From February 25 until now, over 2.83 million Ukrainian citizens have entered the territory of Romania. Save the Children Romania provided humanitarian assistance to 210,720 people: 115,494 Ukrainian children and 95,226 adults.

(Photo source:Olgalis | Dreamstime.com)