Holiday Heroes
Holiday Heroes is a Bulgarian non-profit association helping socially disadvantaged families, elderly people, single mothers and persons with disabilities, by delivering foodstuffs at their homes.[1]
History
Holiday Heroes was launched in Bulgaria in 2012. It was initiated by Michael Straumietis, owner of Advanced Nutrients company. Charity campaigns take place at Christmas and Easter each year. The aim of the initiative is to support socially disadvantaged families, elderly people, single parents and persons with disabilities with the help of celebrities and big companies. It also addresses people living outside Bulgaria. The association's slogan is "Love in Action".[2]
Promotion
The Holiday Heroes team provides regular information on every step of ongoing campaigns through active online presence, especially via the initiative's profiles on Facebook,[3] YouTube,[4] Instagram, and Pinterest.
Holiday Heroes campaigns are supported by Bulgarian media, including: bTV, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Nova TV, The Voice Radio &TV, TV7, the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Darik Radio, BG Radio, Manager magazine, the newspapers Standard and Monitor, Hello! Bulgaria, and many more.[5]
Fundraising
Holiday Heroes was established in Bulgaria as a response to the relatively underdeveloped corporate culture of donation. The major part of the financial and in-kind aid to the initiative is provided exactly by companies operating in Bulgaria.[6]
Holiday Heroes campaigns included large corporations such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, Great Wall, Carrefour, Pepsi, Metro, Sony, and many smaller businesses and individual donors.
Holiday campaigns
List of campaigns and number of families included:
- Christmas 2012 – 1,000 families
- Easter 2013 – 2,000 families
- Christmas 2013 – 5,000 families
- Easter 2014[7]
Volunteering
Volunteers sign up on the Holiday Heroes website or directly get in touch via Facebook. Then they are assigned to one or more of the phases of the campaign – promotion in the supermarkets, packaging holiday boxes or their distribution to the homes of the people in need.
Representatives
Sports people: The national rhythmic gymnastics team, CSKA volleyball club, Ivan Zarev;
Musicians: Ruth Koleva, Orlin Pavlov, Billy the Kid, Mihaela Fileva, Bobo, Vicky Terziyska, Yoko Zahariev, Yoana Dragneva, Ice Cream, Kuts & Klets, Spens, D-Flow, Tony, Svetlin Kaslev, Santra, Redman, Veselin Marinov, Anelia, Tedi Katsarova, Vyara Atova;
Actors: Antoni Argirov, Kalin Vrachanski, Ani Mihaylova, Sasho Kadiev, Koyna Ruseva, Bashar Rahal, Stefan А. Shterev, Alexander 'Silver' Sano, Deyan Donkov, Nevena Bozukova-Neve, Milica Gladnishka, Ivaylo Zahariev, Katya Evro, Yoanna Temelkova;
Others: Georgi Milkov, Yana Grudeva, Dilyana Popova, Yuliyan Kostov, Thomas Lafchis, Mira Dobreva, Mihail Dyuzev, Irina Tencheva, Borisa Tyutyundzhieva, Mira Dobreva, Martina Vachkova, Asya Metodieva, etc.[2]
Supporting events
Holiday Heroes organize a series of supporting events. Those range from holiday workshops, art bazaars, and charity auctions of items and personal belongings of local celebrities to sports tournaments (board games, billiards and bowling), high profile charity gala dinners and concerts.[8]
References
- "Holiday Heroes Easter Campaign for needy in Bulgaria". Causes.com. 2013.
- "Holiday Heroes 2014". Bulgaria, BG: HolidayHeroes.bg. 2014.
- "Facebook Page of Holiday Heroes".
- "Holiday Heroes YouTube channel".
- "Holiday Heroes help poor families". BNR.bg. 2013.
- "Forbes Brings It On with Advanced Nutrients". PR Newswire. 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- "Linkedin Page of Holiday Heroes". Linkedin.com.
- "Celebrities in Bulgaria to colour eggs in support of Holiday Heroes". Focus Information Agency. 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.