The trees will stay in the entrance lobby and  & upper lobby of the hotel until December 17th  and will be decorated with Christmas cards containing wishes from the 120 children from the Robin Hood and Mia’s children shelters aged between 4 and 20 years.

The Christmas cards were done by 20 children from the 2 foundations together with “I love Bucharest” public art program and the workshop took place on  November 13th at the Athenee Palace Hilton.  The workshop started from the idea of finding an attractive way, close to children’s imagination to represent winter and Festive Season. The classic shapes for this season: houses, stockings, snow man, Christmas bulbs, stars – were turned into cards for Santa. Each child personalized these card using graphics, collage, crayons and pastels, coloured paper.

The children have been asked then to write on them a wish for a Christmas present, and the hotel would like to make all their wishes come true. Hotel clients and local business community will be encouraged to “pick a wish” and buy a present for a child.

On December 4th the “hanging  wish cards on the tree" ceremony will take place where 40  children will be present and hang the 120 cards with the wishes on the Christmas trees. On December 17th, in a festive environment the children will be handed the presents they wished for.
          
“We hope we will get a lot of support from our guests and the Romanian and expat community in making this charity project a successful one. Hilton has a long history of community involvement and charitable work worldwide.  The Christmas charity tree project was launched at the Athénée Palace Hilton Bucharest 4 years ago and each year turned out to be a real success” says Mr Niemann, the General Manager of the Athenee Palace Hilton.

I love Bucharest is an innovative & action focused Public Art program, which concentrates on revival of public space in Bucharest through artistic interventions and art projects proposed and done by the artists together with communities, groups, individuals regardless of age, social estate or professional status.
This is a projection concentrating on a future determined by the actions of artists, individuals, groups of individuals, public institutions, private companies, through educational projects, animations, artistic interventions, public art projects, communitary art projects (such as Street of Book, Roll Up Art, Draw for Bucharest, Bucharest metroART).

“Robin Hood” is a legendary character that used to help and protect the poor and helpless people from England. His spirit moved to Romania, in Bucharest and inspired a few people to start a day care orphanage to provide to unprivileged children a home, a meal, counseling, education and social and medical assistance. All the activities developed by the skilled personnel are meant to help developing balanced and joyful children although they are separated from their families and/or relatives.

Starting with their first 2 weeks the children are offered personalized programs to regain confidence interacting with other people and/or children and their emotional and physical development is supported all the time by encouraging them to maintain a close relation with their families or relatives (the centre prepared a private room for their meetings) and participating to outdoor activities with the school, friends or families. Every year the centre organizes a camping week and at least 4 one –day trips.

The Child Relief Association ‘Mia’s Children’ assists close to 70 children and adolescents, whose parents are in deep financial and/or social and/or psychological difficulties and are unable to provide for them and/or decently raise their children. With its various programs the Association wants to prevent that the parents abandon the children and that the kids end-up living on the streets where they would soon be pushed into drugs, crime and child prostitution.

Bucharest Herald