What can you do in two seconds?
You can send a text SMS and make a monthly donation that will change the lives of vulnerable children.
- Available in:
- English
- Română
It takes two seconds
to make a monthly SMS donation
Two seconds, that’s all it takes to send a text and help vulnerable children have access to the social, education and health services they so greatly need.
In order to make a monthly SMS donation to UNICEF, you have to text CHILD to:
8844 – for monthly recurring donations of EUR 2.
8864 – for monthly recurring donations of EUR 4.
You will receive text messages to which you will have to reply, free of charge, in order to finalise the donation.
More information on text giving is available here: https://donatie.ro/continut/continut/category/feature-sms
What’s good to know
➡️• Why monthly donations?
The problems of vulnerable and marginalised children are complex and they rarely have quick fixes. To respond to these challenges, UNICEF implements long-term projects that span over at least 5-7 years.
You choose for how long you wish to donate and you can very easily cancel your monthly SMS donation. In order to contribute to a fundamental change in the lives of vulnerable and marginalised children, the longer you choose to get involved, the more powerful your donation will be.
A child’s life can improve with your long-term, constant support. By donating, you become an active part of the solution and of the change process.
➡️• How do I make a monthly SMS donation?
Send a free SMS with the word CHILD to 8864 and donate EUR 4 each month. Send a free SMS with the word CHILD to 8844 and donate EUR 2 each month. There are no additional charges for these texts or for the confirmation text messages.
If you are with Orange or Digi, you will receive a text confirming that you have become a UNICEF Friend and have started giving monthly.
If you are with Telekom or Vodafone, you will receive a text asking you to confirm your donation: “We need you to confirm that you wish to give EUR 2/month to UNICEF. Send CHILD YES now to 8844”. Reply CHILD YES to this message, within 24 hours, to confirm your donation. You will get the following confirmation text: “UNICEF thanks you! You are giving EUR 2 each month and you help vulnerable children. You can cancel your monthly donation by texting CHILD STOP to 8844. Find out more at 021 201 78 64”. If you have chosen to give 4 euros a month, the text will read: “UNICEF thanks you! You are giving EUR 4 each month and you help vulnerable children. You can cancel your monthly donation by texting CHILD STOP to 8864. Find out more at 021 201 78 64”.
This confirms that you have become a UNICEF Friend and have started giving monthly. From that point on, your donation will be made automatically, each month, until you decide to stop giving. For example, if you send the subscription text on the 1st of the month, on the 1st of each month you will be charged EUR 2 or EUR 4, according to your choice. If you send the SMS on the 31st, you will be charged on the 28th, the 30th or the 31st of the month.
➡️• Why am I asked whether I want UNICEF to know my phone number?
24 hours after you made the donation, you will get a text message asking you to consent to being contacted by UNICEF: “Do you consent to UNICEF knowing your phone number to tell you how you help children? Thank you! If you do not consent, please text NO to 8844 in the next 24 hours”.
If you reply NO to this SMS, we will not know your phone number and will not be able to contact you.
If you do not reply, we will know your phone number and will contact you to thank you for your involvement and to ask you to give us your personal details.
We encourage you not to hesitate to trust us with your details so that we can contact you. Without your email address or phone number, it is difficult to contact you and it is important for us to be able to keep our donors up to date with the results and the implemented programmes.
➡️• What should I do if I sent the wrong text?
If you sent the wrong text, you will get a message from 24400 informing you that your donation could not be made and prompting you to start over.
➡️• How do I cancel the donation?
Once you have made a donation, you cannot cancel the first payment. If you do not want to donate from next month on, you can text CHILD STOP to 8844 - if you gave EUR 2, or text CHILD STOP to 8864 - if you gave EUR 4, and donations will stop.
If you need help: write to us at Prietenunicef@unicef.org or call us at 021.20178.64 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).
➡️• How do I stop the donation?
Each month, you will receive a thank you SMS which will also explain how you can stop giving.
You can stop donating at any time by sending a free text with the words CHILD STOP to 8844 if you are donating EUR 2. Or text CHILD STOP to 8864 if you are donating EUR 4.
➡️• How is the money collected?
If you are on a monthly plan: your 2 euro/4 euro donation will be added to your mobile bill each month.
If you have a pay-as-you-go SIM card: the 2 euros/4 euros need to be topped up separately (in addition to the credit available for that month). For example: if you have topped up EUR 5 for that month, the amount you have to pay to the mobile network operator is minimum EUR 7 – of which, EUR 2 as EXTRA CREDIT to cover the EUR 2 donation; EUR 9, respectively – of which, EUR 4 as EXTRA CREDIT to cover the EUR 4 donation.
➡️• How can I donate more?
There are several options to make more generous monthly donations:
- You can add a second monthly text donation as follows: if you are already donating EUR 2, the second donation will amount to EUR 4 per month – by texting CHILD to 8864. If you are already donating EUR 4 monthly, the second donation will amount to EUR 2 per month – by texting CHILD to 8844.
- You can just give any amount you want online. Go to www.unicef.org/romania/ro in the “Donate” section and write the chosen amount in the online form available.
- You can set up a Direct Debit mandate when you meet with UNICEF Fundraisers.
We are always happy to hear from you: at prietenunicef@unicef.org or 021.201.78.64 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).
➡️• How can I find out how my donation helps children?
To us, it is very important to keep you up to date with the results achieved for children. We communicate the latest results for children on the UNICEF website, on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages and in the UNICEF newsletters. Subscribe here: I want to receive stories of the children!
We are always happy when UNICEF Friends ask us for information, so please contact us any time you want at prietenunicef@unicef.org or at 021.201.78.64 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).
Superheroes that UNICEF Friends have helped spread their wings
Thousands of UNICEF Friends have helped us reach out to children. Find out some of their stories below.
Only by acting together can we write a happy ending to each story!
Meet Nicolas, Dominic, Cristian and Denisa!
Meet and listen to Leonard, Ana-Maria, Denis and Florinel!
Meet and listen to Edi, Ciprian and Vlăduț!
Discover the stories of the children!
The impact of the donations made by UNICEF Friends
The long-term monthly support provided by UNICEF Friends is very important. The problems that vulnerable children are facing in Romania require solutions that can transform mindsets and produce lasting changes. Therefore, UNICEF carries out long-term interventions that span over at least 5-7 years. Just like in Edi’s case. And in Leonard’s case. And in Denisa’s. And not only in their case.
Results for children
We work to make sure that all children live a safe life and have access to social and health services, to decent living conditions and to quality inclusive education.
Many Romanian children are now smiling thanks to UNICEF Friends. Here are some of the results* we are pleased to share with all our supporters:
✔ All children identified as undocumented now have identity documents and are registered with general practitioners;
✔ The share of unvaccinated children dropped by 40 per cent;
✔ The proportion of teenage mothers decreased by 50 per cent;
✔ The rate of school dropout declined by 60 per cent;
✔ All preschool children are enrolled in kindergarten.
* Results of the Minimum Package of Services programme that UNICEF has been piloting in 45 communities from the county of Bacău since 2014, together with partners and with local and central public authorities.