Who We Are
The GOAL Project Charity was set up and registered with the charity commission in 2015.
Currently, we provide long term and sustained support for abandoned and orphaned children living in Bulgarian Institutions.
The charity currently works with four Bulgarian institutions, supporting about 240 babies, toddlers, children and teenagers, some of whom have disabilities. All the funds raised go directly towards the well-being of the children we support. Currently we fund and provide:
- A part time doctor
- A Physiotherapist
- A Speech and Language Therapist
- Equipment Purchase - eg baby seats
- Key life skills- eg cookery lessons to teenagers, swimming lessons
- A Christmas donation for food and small gifts
- Clothing donated by many of our generous supporters
As a small charity, we work alongside a Bulgarian charitable organisation, The Tabitha Foundation http://tabitha.bg who provide the local knowledge and experience to assist us in targeting our funds where they are most needed to help the children.
The Trustees make an annual visit to each of the institutions that we support to meet with the directors and the children. This gives us an opportunity to ensure that our funding is being used in an efficient and effective way. We evaluate and identify any other requirements or needs that would promote good health and wellbeing for the babies, children and teenagers who we support and adjust the distribution of funds if necessary. Currently most of the funds help babies and young children who have a range of disabilities, ranging from the mild to very severe.
The charity needs to raise a minimum of £14,000 per annum to meet our current financial commitments. This is raised through a combination of individual donations and fundraising events. As a charity we have always felt a strong sense of community with our supporters through these events and are exceedingly grateful for the donations we receive, which enables the continued funding of vital services for the babies, children and teenagers we support.
The Charity's Mission Statement
“Relief of poverty, need, sickness and distress and the promotion of good health for children who are orphaned, abandoned, without parents, disabled or otherwise in great need, in particular but not exclusively, in Bulgaria.
Registered UK Charity number 1163924.
How We Started
In 2007 a BBC Documentary entitled “Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children” raised awareness of the conditions within the Bulgarian orphanages. At this time a local woman with family links to Bulgaria visited one of the orphanages and the conditions she witnessed spurred her on to raise funds to help. In the intervening years money has been raised to improve the quality of life for children in these institutions. Working with an amazing Bulgarian charity, “The Tabitha Foundation”, a group of people continued and built on this original work. We started and continue our association with Tabitha Foundation because their small and dynamic team, working in partnership with donors, have transformed the lives of so many children.
The activities of the group were formalised in 2015 when The G.O.A..L Project Charity was formally registered with the UK Charity Commission.
Frequently Asked Questions
The G.O.A.L Charity works closely with The Tabitha Foundation in Bulgaria. This organisation has extensive local knowledge and experience of working with the institutions we support and can assist us to target the funds where they are most needed.
None of the Trustees receive a salary from the charity nor do they claim any expenses for visits to Bulgaria and other charity related activities.
As a charity we made a conscious decision to improve the health and wellbeing of the children in institutions, orphanages and small care homes and to maintain that support no matter what.
As of Oct 2021, we have been funding doctors, therapists and Babas for six years. Our work doesn’t make great headlines, but we pride ourselves in consistently funding staff and projects in Bulgaria that make a real long term difference to the children we support. The institutions we support are only able to provide the most basic care, and we, through our partnership with The Tabitha Foundation have enabled the most disadvantaged in society to be able to learn to walk, to learn to talk, to have their medical needs identified and to have one to one loving care.
We are small, focused and have very low overheads. We sustain our support for the projects we fund so the work has long term impact.
Trustees and Supporters
The current Trustees came together 12 years ago with the aim to make a material difference to the plight of children abandoned in Bulgarian institutions. In partnership with the Tabitha Foundation (a hands on charity based in Bulgaria) we have listened carefully and identified how we can achieve the most most positive longterm outcome for those we help.
At least once a year we visit Bulgaria to meet with the Tabitha Foundation, with whom we work closely, and who oversee the staff we fund. We visit the homes, institutions or orphanages supported by G.O.A.L to see how our funds are being used to help the children and discuss directly with the staff what their needs might be.
We pay all our own costs including flights, accommodation and meals. We do not receive any payments or take any salary from the charity.
Each trustee brings to the table an individual perspective that is fundamental to the running of the charity and fundraising.
As a charity, we feel a strong sense of community with our supporters and are exceedingly grateful for their continued support
We welcome anyone that is interested in learning more about the charity or in becoming a trustee, to contact us by email: info@thegoalprojectcharity.org.uk
Send Us a Message
Got any questions? Please send us a message.
