The coronavirus pandemic is worsening the well-being of thousands of Iranian families in our partner network. Families with students worst hit by income loss are our highest priority. For their well-being, we must act.
The office has already given care packages to families across Iran. We have supported 8,700 so far. But more relief is needed. With a $100 donation, we can put purchasing power into the hands of five families on the brink of caring for themselves. Our partner office is coordinating grocery store gift card distribution so that families can get the supplies they need with dignity.
$100,000 can support 5,000 families.
Child Foundation maximizes your support by not deducting overhead costs from donations to any coronavirus and Care Packages for Iran campaigns. Only bank transaction fees are deducted.
This is Emergency Assistance. Child Foundation will utilize its OFAC General License E to send relief funds to our affiliate organization in Iran.
Below is a report about the recent work in Iran to combat the financial hardship in the shadow of the coronavirus. They say good things come in small packages, and the Iran office is increasingly giving grocery store gift cards instead of distributing bags of goods.
Reports from the Tehran office
During its 26 years of activity, Child Foundation, with the help of domestic and foreign partners, helped and empowered low-income families under many different circumstances.
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus and its exacerbation in recent weeks, Child Foundation distributed more than 2,800 grocery gift cards to its students across Iran.
Because the Child Foundation’s target community is students from low-income and vulnerable families, not supporting them at this critical time would lead to severe problems and difficulties. To mitigate the situation, under the theme of distributing livelihoods and with the support of partners and cooperating chain stores, we provided 2,800 gift cards with 300,000 Toomaan credits in the first phase of support.
Providing grocery gift cards instead of buying food items and distributing them through our 36 representative offices maintains the dignity of students and their families. It also allows them to spend the money according to their own food preferences. Last but not least, using gift cards significantly saves our organization time and overhead costs.
In addition to grocery gift cards, the Child Foundation’s social workers have monitored students’ and their families’ physical and mental health. We have tried our best to help them learn how to deal with the virus, stay calm, and overcome anxiety.
With the aid of our fantastic sponsor community, we will not allow food insecurity and lack of essential items to become a barrier to our student’s education.
With the help of this charitable community, the second phase of preparing the gift cards for other Child Foundation students will begin in the coming days.”
Update November 2020
Following the submission of previous reports, in the first phase of the project, implemented in late May and early June 2020, 2800 food cards were distributed to the families. In the second phase, in September 1600, food cards were distributed. And in the third phase, another 800 cards were sent to the 36 provincial branches of Child Foundation for distribution.
In these challenging times, due to the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the livelihood of families, especially low-income families, with the help of well-meaning sponsors, 5200 grocery gift cards were distributed to the students throughout 36 Child Foundation branches.
By providing the grocery gift cards, an attempt was made to slightly mitigate the negative economic effects of the coronavirus on the students and their families. We choose to distribute a grocery gift card instead of a basket of goods to preserve the dignity of students and families. Dignity has always been of particular importance in the Child Foundation. The Iran central office implemented this project with the support of donors and partners living abroad.
We are joining an ongoing effort of dozens of affiliate offices throughout Iran to support families who have lost their breadwinners. The photos here show care packages delivered within recent weeks. This is a disaster and Child Foundation families need us.
