Càritas Andorra Sees Steady Demand, Boosts After-School Aid in 2025
Charity maintains consistent user numbers, focusing on vulnerable families and youth programs, with plans for expanded volunteering in 2026.
Key Points
- Steady 2025 demand from isolated individuals and single-parent families.
- After-school reinforcement program shows strongest growth.
- Funding via donations; 2026 rounding-up program planned.
- Christmas toy drive by students; push to engage youth volunteers.
Càritas Andorra is maintaining steady demand for its services in 2025, with user numbers tracking in line with recent years, according to Anna Maria Villas, a representative of the organisation.
The primary users remain isolated individuals lacking support networks and single-parent families, though the group assists people in all kinds of circumstances. Older people and children continue to benefit from strong social services coverage in the country, despite occasional exceptional cases.
Among its 2025 programmes, Càritas has focused on primary care, medical test support, school awareness initiatives, accompaniment in prisons and care homes, and international cooperation. Villas highlighted the after-school reinforcement programme, which has seen the strongest growth this year and aims to ensure all children and young people can access extracurricular activities.
Funding comes mainly from donations by individuals, businesses, entities and schools. In 2026, the organisation plans to join the rounding-up programme to bolster its after-school efforts further.
For the Christmas period, Càritas emphasises that vulnerable families need help year-round, not just during the holidays. It runs a toy collection campaign, gathering games for young children and experiences for older youth, with support from 30 to 40 high school and baccalaureate students who help wrap and distribute gifts. A Christmas collection also takes place in churches across the country, with this year's message stressing that a dignified life should not depend on luck.
More than 100 volunteers, including institutional and technical staff, contribute to the work, with extra help during the holiday drive.
Looking to 2026, priorities include staying responsive to users' evolving needs and engaging more young people in volunteering. "The challenge is to enthuse young people to do volunteer work," Villas said, adding that sensitising youth to find joy in helping others is key.
Andorra remains a small but highly supportive country, where collective efforts help adapt to emerging demands, she noted.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: