Romanian non-profit and delivery platform partner to raise funds for new hospital equipment

Local non-profit Dăruiește Viață Association and delivery platform TAZZ have teamed up for a campaign aimed at raising funds to purchase the necessary equipment for the new children's hospital the NGO built in Bucharest.

The medical facility was constructed entirely from private donations and sponsorships and was completed in December 2022. More than 350,000 individuals and over 7,000 companies backed what the non-profit calls "the largest social involvement initiative in Romania."

All the funds raised through the new campaign will be used to purchase medical equipment, supplies and furniture for the new hospital.

Those who want to join the effort have to open the Tazz app and enter the Shops/Magazine section and choose from the Dăruiește Viață offer the products they wish to donate, from children's toys and wall stickers to medical instruments and supplies. The products are virtual, and their purchase actually means a donation to the #NoiFacemUnSpital (WeBuildAHospital) initiative. Available donation options start from RON 5, 10, and 100 and go up to RON 100,000.

All the funds raised from the orders made via the app will go to Dăruiește Viață. The campaign aims to raise EUR 150,000 from the EUR 5.2 million + VAT estimated to be necessary for equipping the hospital.

"We considered June to be the perfect month to start this campaign that will provide us with the necessary resources to offer children with serious pathologies treatment conditions similar to those in Western Europe," said Carmen Uscatu, founder of Dăruiește Viață.

In turn, co-founder Oana Gheorghiu said: "The construction works have been completed […] and as soon as possible, we will prepare the operationalization of the hospital built by Dăruiește Viață with the support of over 350,000 people and over 7,000 companies. Now is the right time to think about how it will work day to day, what needs patients, medical staff, and parents will have."

The #NoiFacemUnSpital (WeBuildAHospital) initiative started from the desire to renovate and bring up to modern standards the pediatric oncology department of the Marie S. Curie Hospital in Bucharest but turned into a real country project - the first children's hospital built exclusively from donations and sponsorships. At the moment, this means a building of 12,000 sqm and roughly 187 beds.

The hospital will provide the infrastructure necessary to offer multidisciplinary care to children with oncological pathology and other serious diseases. It brings numerous firsts for Romania, such as an operating theatre with five operating rooms made exclusively of glass to reduce nosocomial infections, special spaces designed for parents and patients (relaxation spaces, indoor cinema, radio studio, indoor garden, and so on), the first pediatric radiotherapy department in a public hospital, intensive care medicine with individual salons, and access based on a clean hands system, digitization, and more.