About Us
Children in Distress is a children’s charity funding projects enhancing children’s wellbeing, education & life skills in the UK & Romania.
Who We Are
We are a children’s charity passionate about enabling young people in the UK and Romania to thrive. We fund projects focused on children and families that nurture wellbeing and education, build life skills and create strong communities.
With over 35 years of experience working with children in Romania, we have recently extended our focus and impact to the UK. The heart of what we do remains the same – to improve the lives of vulnerable children wherever our support is most needed.
Our charity roots stretch back to 1990 when we responded to the urgent humanitarian need in Romania and the thousands of children experiencing illness, disability, poverty and HIV/Aids. Over the years we have adapted and responded to changing needs in Romania, the growth of its social services and have increasingly worked in partnership with other local organisations and charities.
Today, we provide a grant to Casa Maria in Romania set up in 2022, which provides an award-winning safe and comfortable home-like environment for 12 children with severe disabilities and complex needs.
Recently funded grassroots projects in the UK include Sunday school, cookery and wellbeing and life skills projects for Romanian communities in Hull and London. These projects are developing important life skills and enabling children to learn about their Romanian heritage.
We believe the strongest solutions come from communities themselves. That’s why our approach is collaborative, transparent, and child-centred, working alongside partners who understand local needs and share our commitment to putting children first.
Support Our 2026Â Shoebox Appeal
We’ve launched our 2026 ‘love in a box’ appeal. Can you help us by filling one or more shoeboxes with gifts for children, teenagers or older adults or by donating to support the appeal? You can support us as an individual or as part of a community, church, business, school or other group. Please download our leaflet to find out more about how the appeal works and to get involved. If you have any questions or would like to chat to our team, we would love you to get in touch.
We’d also love to chat to businesses who would like to get involved. We can offer lots of opportunities including inspiring colleagues to pack a shoebox and sponsorship opportunities.
ALL SHOEBOXES IN SCHOOL BY FRIDAY 9th NOVEMBER 2026.
