"It all started more than two years ago. as a result of some sandwiches"., recalls Nacho, one of the initiators of Cyrenean. "Every morning I passed a poor man, Jordi, at the traffic lights. Every day he would ask me for money. I never give money, and I would tell him so, but what I started to do was to go to the nearby bar, pay him for a coffee and a sandwich and he could go and have it whenever he wanted."
As a result of this almost daily action, Nacho thought about the possibility of taking it "on a large scale", so that there would be people who could give money knowing perfectly well how it would be used. This is how it was conceived CyreneA digital platform through which individuals and companies can make donations knowing to whom they are destined and what the money is invested in.
On its website www.cirineov.es explains perfectly how to become a donor or how to approach them to channel aid.
Their motto, "Donate with transparency and full impact" perfectly defines the fundamental lines of a project with which these two young people from Madrid help fifty families... for the time being.
The beneficiaries
More than 90 families have already received help for their basic purchases or for psychological support through CyreneHow do you choose the families or individuals you help? "We don't do it ourselves directly because we are not a foundation, not an NGO."explains Carlos. "We collaborate with CáThe families are the ones who carry out the filtering and indicate the families to be helped and their needs. They are the ones who do the filtering and indicate the families to help and the needs they have. After that, we get in touch with them and start our direct Cirineo-beneficiary relationship".
Carlos and Nacho almost always speak of "beneficiary families" because most of those who receive this assistance are families with small children, although they also have small children. "Individuals have been helped, especially with psychological care.
The aid is maintained until the association indicates them or until the beneficiaries themselves state that they no longer need it: "Recently a family that had been on food assistance for quite some time told us that they had found work and wanted that assistance to go to other families."
In addition, a direct relationship is established with each beneficiary: "Every time they consume an aid, in addition to sending the ticket and a thank you to the donor, we also ask them about their day-to-day life. We avoid generating a feeling of pity, the questions are along the lines of: What are your dreams? How are the children's grades? Do you do anything special for Christmas?". This information is shared with the donor, but the entire donor-recipient relationship is done through Cyreneto avoid any kind of "dependence".
Donors
Cyrene has more than 300 donors, companies and individuals, who support dozens of families in different parts of Spain. The "standard" donations range from 5 euros per month to 50 euros, which can be used to sponsor a family, but generosity has no limit upwards. Once the donation is started, donors receive information about the destination of the donation and photos so that they are aware of where and how the help has been spent. When a family is helped, they also receive a thank you message from that family and a follow-up of their progress.
However, the donors do not "choose the beneficiary", as the initiators explain: "On the website we have the option of sponsoring a family directly by donating 50 euros a month and you can decide in which city you want the help to take place."The beneficiary family is determined by the organization or the parish Caritas that knows the family.
One thing distinguishes donors from Cyreneare younger than average -they are in their thirties-. and "they give twice as much as the Spanish average".. The initiators of the project are proud of this committed youth, which is explained, on the one hand, by the ease of donation, through the platform of www.cirineov.esThe company is also committed to total transparency in how and by whom the donated money is received and invested.
Member businesses
The main idea of Cyrene is that 100% of the amount donated goes to the beneficiary. The project is supported by a commission that the project charges to the businesses adhering to the project. CyreneIn other words, the beneficiaries spend this donation in a specific establishment that is a member of the platform and it is the latter that pays a commission to the platform for its support.
Currently, they work with a network of supermarkets that is present in almost all major Spanish cities and several psychology practices.
"Our dream is to also be able to offer ophthalmology, dentistry...etc. services. We are talking to other providers to get into school supplies and clothing." A dream that, although difficult at the moment because there are still only two people behind the project, is a dream that, although difficult at the moment because there are still only two people behind the project. CyreneThe company is looking forward to making the project a reality in the near future.
How does it work?
The beneficiaries through Cyrene receive, in the form of a voucher with a QR code associated with it, the amount allocated by the donor. With this voucher, they can go to the participating store to Cyrene and make the necessary purchase. Once the purchase has been made, send the ticket to Cyrene and from here it is sent to donors. "Full transparency", The initiators emphasize, "that's the main thing in Cirineo".
"We don't want to make dependent people." Carlos and Nacho emphasize, "We work with associations or foundations that are directly familiar with the needs of the families and can follow up on them. We want to be an additional contribution in the process of these families to get out of poverty".
At present, Cyrene works with beneficiaries and associations in five Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Lugo, Vigo and Guadalajara. Most of the people "they come through different parish Caritas, but there are some other foundations and associations. For example, in Madrid, we also work with RedMadre, which assists mothers-to-be in complicated situations."
The more donations and recurring donations, the more help we provide
"The people we help depend, of course, on the money we can count on from donors, so we try to make the donation recurring." explain. "It is important for us to have the ability to know how many families we can help. The more donors, the more families we can help and, the more recurrence, the easier it is to have a forecast so that we don't have to stop helping anyone for lack of donations.".
To date, more than 70,000 euros have been allocated to these basic necessities or psychological support for vulnerable families through Cyrene which expects to continue to grow in order to serve an increasing number of families.
