ASOCIAȚIA Grupul Verde
Green Innovation Hub ·

Mentoring for vulnerable children

Inclusion for every child.

A child in care, a Roma child or a child with disabilities has the same right to technology and nature. We adapt our activities so that nobody is left out.

  • The Child Guarantee
  • Roma
  • Disabilities
  • Children in care
Illustration: One mentor, one year, a new path — Inclusion for Every Child, Green Innovation Hub

The European model we are bringing to Vrancea

One-to-one mentoring for a whole year.

Model: ROCK YOUR LIFE! (Germany, since 2008) · present in five countries

Every vulnerable teenager is paired with a student mentor for a year, to make a successful move from lower secondary school to upper secondary or vocational school.

The programme has no Romanian version. We are adapting it for children in rural areas, in care and from Roma communities.

✓What it has shown in Europe

  • Over 10,000 mentor–pupil pairs in more than 50 locations
  • ifo Institute evaluation: mentoring doubles the chances of starting vocational training
  • Included in the OECD toolkit for youth policy
Source: ifo Institute, 2023 ↗

The cause · why we are starting this programme

Almost 1 in 3 Romanian children starts life at a social disadvantage.

Romania has one of the highest child poverty rates in the EU, and in villages the risk is even higher.

33,8%

of children in Romania are at risk of poverty or social exclusion

Eurostat, 2024 · [1]

Children at risk of poverty or social exclusion

Romania33.8%
EU average24.2%
Eurostat, 2024 · [1]
45.1%of people in Romania’s villages are at risk of poverty or social exclusionEurostat, 2023 · [3]

European alignment

What Europe asks. What we do in Vrancea.

The programme responds directly to the policies the European Union asks of Member States — applied at the level of Vrancea County, for all ages.

EU document · 2021

European Child Guarantee · Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004

Free access to education, care and activities for every vulnerable child.

Read the document ↗
EU document · 2020

EU Roma strategic framework 2020–2030

Equality, inclusion and participation, with a focus on education and digital skills.

Read the document ↗
EU document · 2021

Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021–2030

Inclusive education and equal access to technology.

Read the document ↗

Launch readiness

How ready we are before day one.

We are not waiting for funding to start thinking about the programme. Here, openly, is what is ready and what comes next.

69%
Readiness indexCalculated from 8 launch criteria
  • European model analysed and documentedReady
  • Alignment with EU policies checkedReady
  • Context data from official sourcesReady
  • Expert profiles definedReady
  • Activities and objectives plannedReady
  • Own resources identified: space and equipmentPartial
  • Implementation partners confirmedIn progress
  • Funding securedIn progress
  1. Sept. 2026Analysis & European model
  2. Q4 2026Partners & funding applications
  3. 2027Pilot in Vrancea
  4. 2028+Expansion, under the new 2028–2034 EU financial framework

What we will do

One main activity and three that support it.

The flagship model

One-to-one mentoring for a whole year

Every vulnerable teenager is paired with a student mentor for a year, to make a successful move from lower secondary school to upper secondary or vocational school..

Activity 02

Barrier-free clubs

Coding and robotics adapted for children with disabilities.

Activity 03

Roma girls in technology

Digital skills and career guidance for Roma girls and young women.

Activity 04

No hidden costs

Transport and materials covered, so that no child misses out.

Project status

In preparation · launch 2027
  1. 1
    ConceptAnalysis & partners
  2. 2
    PilotFirst activities
  3. 3
    OngoingActive in the community
  4. 4
    ExpansionRegional scale-up

✓What we already have

  • Meaningful Digital Inclusion — application submitted, phase 2 (2025)
  • FutureShe — proposal for Roma girls and women (2025)
  • All our activities are free for families

→Programme objectives

  • The first mentor–pupil pairs in partner schools (2027)
  • The first barrier-free club (2027)
  • Ongoing mentoring for children in care
  • A cohort of Roma girls in technology

Our role · how we work

The programme starts with experts, not improvisation.

The same five steps as in all our programmes: data, experts, equipment, community, public results.

  1. Local diagnosisWe start from data: the schools, the villages and the real needs of young people in Vrancea.
  2. A programme built with expertsCurriculum and activities designed together with specialists and teachers.
  3. Training & equipmentWe bring kits, laptops and mentors wherever they are missing.
  4. Working in the communityFree, hands-on activities at school, in the village or out in the field.
  5. Measurement & public reportingWe count the results and publish them — verifiable figures, not promises.

Who we work with

The experts beside the children.

The specialist profiles we start and run the activities with. Their names appear in the project reports.

Social workersIdentify and support vulnerable children.Involved from the start
Support teachersAdapt activities for children with disabilities.Involved from the start
School mediatorsBuild trust with Roma families.Involved from the start
Mentors from technologyRole models for Roma girls.Involved from the start

What we hope for · how you can help

Be among those who launch the programme.

The programme is ready. You choose how to help, and your support goes to this programme. This page shows what is ready and what comes next, and we will publish the first results after the 2027 launch.

Donation

Cover the hidden costs

Transport and materials for a vulnerable child.

Donate →
Volunteering

Consistent mentors

A stable relationship matters more than any course.

Become a mentor →

Sources and methodology

Where the figures come from.

Our own figures (young people trained, schools, localities) come from the association’s records and are published in the impact report. Context statistics come from official sources, with the year of the latest available edition.

  1. Children at risk of poverty or social exclusion, Romania — the third-highest share in the EUEurostat · ilc_peps01n · 2024. View source ↗
  2. Children at risk of poverty or social exclusion, EU averageEurostat · ilc_peps01n · 2024. View source ↗
  3. Population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, rural areas, RomaniaEurostat · ilc_peps13n · 2023. View source ↗

Portfolio 2026–2027

Projects written by young people, with us as coach.

Inclusion for Every Child is part of the 2026–2027 portfolio of Asociația Grupul Verde: 43 programme lines in which young people build technology for nature, protected species, climate and democracy, with partners from Romania and the EU through Horizon Europe, LIFE, Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and CERV.

Democracy, memory and citizenship

Pupils and families in civic education

Pupils attend workshops with their parents on rights, voting and public services and build a small digital guide for the community together.

Target programme: Horizon Europe

Linked to: Civic and legal education, Citizenship & Rights

Erasmus+ and mobility

Youth exchanges, youth worker mobility and youth participation

Young people from Vrancea travel and host peers from across Europe; youth workers learn new ways of working with technology.

Target programme: Erasmus+

Linked to: Youth, gender & activism, Funding

Erasmus+ and mobility

DiscoverEU travel for young people with fewer opportunities

We help 18-year-olds from villages apply and travel; when they return, they tell the story of their trip on a digital map.

Target programme: Erasmus+

Linked to: Second Chance, Rural communities

Erasmus+ and mobility

Green sport and rural inclusion

Running and cycling trails in nature, mapped by young people, that bring village children together and clean the area on every outing.

Target programme: Erasmus+ (EACEA)

Linked to: Rural communities, Environment & biodiversity

European Solidarity Corps

International volunteering teams (waste, recycling, inclusion)

Mixed teams of young people from several countries who clean up, sort and measure waste with an app they built.

Target programme: European Solidarity Corps (EACEA)

Linked to: Environment & biodiversity, Code & Climate

Local and regional grants

Small grant without co-financing (EEA / Norway Grants)

Small grants with no own contribution, to test a young people’s idea quickly before a larger project.

Target programme: EEA Grants · Civil Society Fund

Linked to: Funding, For funders

See all 43 programme linesPropose a partnership

Support Inclusion for Every Child

Help this pilot get started.

Your donation goes straight into the activities of Inclusion for Every Child in Vrancea — materials, kits, trainers and transport for children and young people. Every amount counts.

Bank transfer with no fees · 3.5% of your tax · sponsorship with a contract