What began as informal group of young people who were looking after children living on the streets evolved into Samaritans Association — an organization that provides support to marginalized children, elderly individuals, and families in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
Samaritans Association's services are built on addressing the real needs of these populations. The organization's activities include building skills for self-help, assisting the process of integration, encouraging self-development, increasing or restoring social roles, and preventing of the far-reaching effects of social exclusion.
Early on, the young volunteers of what would become known as Samaritans Association had to improvise games and lessons to educate local homeless children. They went around town securing donations of food and clothing from local businesses and anyone else willing to give.
TechSoup Bulgaria, a member of the TechSoup Global Network, ensured that Samaritans Association did not need to go searching far and wide for information technology support. In fact, because of TechSoup Bulgaria, Samaritans Association was able to affordably upgrade its network software to the Windows 7 operating system, thereby lowering overhead costs and improving work flow among staff.