The Association of Roma Minority Representatives and Spokespeople of Nógrád County has been undertaking vital community work in the Northern Hungarian region. Since its establishment in 1996, the main mission of the organisation has been to reduce child poverty by providing assistance to families in need.
The Association is one of the Foundation’s strategic educational partners. The team have a wide regional focus and actively support families living in Bátonyterenye, Mátraverebély and Lucfalva. Our cooperation started when the Association faced a moment of crisis and Badur helped them to acquire and renovate their own after-school building in Bátonyterenye. This investment was the first, and very important, strategic step towards increased sustainability. Details of this project are described here.
Ever since, the Association team have been trying to diversify their income streams by increasing revenue-producing activities. Through the professional support granted under Badur’s Springboard Programme 2017, the Association drew up a pilot programme to run a sustainable charity shop in Bátonyterenye. The idea was based on the monthly charity fairs, which had been organised with great success in cooperation with Adománytaxi (“Donation Taxi”) for years. Badur supported the pilot with professional advice and partial coverage of the running costs.
The pilot programme showed that in a small rural settlement, the occasional charity fairs can be organised more successfully than to run a charity shop with regular opening hours. Through the pilot, the organisation concluded that they should return to the original fairs and strengthen their community development potential.
