FOURTH CONFERENCE OF ROMANIAN AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS
VESTED IN WEAVING SOCIAL COHESION
Featured Diaspora NGO during the Opening Plenary Session, Dec. 2nd 2022
Each year we feature the internationally acclaimed projects of the Blue Heron Foundation, one of the most consequential diaspora organizations impacting the lives of Romanian and Moldovan youth through mentorship and scholarships programs that help recipients attain their true potential. The Founding President of Blue Heron Foundation, Mrs. Stefania Magidson, is an advisory board member of the IRF and the true powerhouse behind a charitable movement that motivates donors and mentors to be truly involved in guiding the lives of so many young people. We are thrilled to celebrate with them their two decades of service. The organization started out of the desire to create a world in which formerly institutionalized children no longer live in poverty nor suffer abuse and marginalization. To date, her foundation has raised over $3.5 million, touching the lives of over 3,000 children and awarding college scholarships to 450 youth in Romania and Moldova. When the war broke out in Ukraine this year, she leaped into action and raised over $350,000. Together with her team, she expanded Blue Heron’s focus and developed a dozen humanitarian aid programs varying in complexity, from providing transportation and medical services at the border to transporting medicine to Ukraine and partnering with doctors to create a streamlined cancer care program for the refugees.
Stefania is no stranger to hardships. Her family immigrated to Utah in 1983 with just a suitcase. Having lived through darker times her life’s purpose continues to be that of shining light into darkened corners. This year she was awarded the Legacy Humanitarian Award by the South East European Film Festival/Los Angeles for providing Emergency Relief to Ukrainian Refugees.