American Friends of Pro Vita Orphanage (AFPVO) is an IRS 501(c)(3) charity established in 2009 by Fr. Sean Cavanaugh and three alumnae of St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School (SSSAS) in Alexandria, VA primarily to support capital improvements for the Pro Vita community. The majority of monies raised is dedicated to specific capital improvement projects selected in accordance with Pro Vita’s priorities and most pressing needs.

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The Pro Vita Orphanage was established in Romania in 1991 and is the largest private orphanage in the country. Over the years, its mission has expanded to include support for abused women and their children, unmarried mothers, the elderly, intellectually challenged adults and most recently more than 100 Ukrainian children and elderly war refugees. Today more than 350 Romanian children and adults are resident members of the Pro Vita community with homes located in numerous villages including Valea Screzii, Valea Plopului and the town of Valenii de Munte — all located about two hours north of Bucharest. Mihail and Melanie Tanase have taken on the challenges of managing this very diverse population with the goals of improving the levels of health, education, and productivity for all the residents as well as providing skills training to enable many of Pro Vita’s residents to become economically self-sufficient and lead productive lives outside of the community. Children who arrived at Pro Vita as babies have grown into young adults with several completing undergraduate and graduate degrees at Romanian universities. Women have been able to enter the labor force and join the national pension system. The elderly and intellectually challenged are guaranteed safe, loving, comfortable homes.

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Since 2014, AFPVO has forwarded almost $200,000 to Pro Vita which has been used to build, improve, and repair numerous residential and community buildings, and acquire vehicles used to collect in-kind donations from individuals and local corporations and businesses. Efforts in Valenii de Munte have enabled some children to attend the town’s elementary and high schools, which are more academically rigorous than the village schools, and participate in after school enrichment activities.

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As the largest non-Romanian source of monetary support to Pro Vita, AFPVO relies on individual donors like you to support this critical financial lifeline.