Founded in 2011
Institute C - Child, Care, Citizen began its activities the following year, serving families in situations of social vulnerability with chronically or seriously ill children referred by public hospitals in São Paulo, applying the Family Action Plan - PAF, a social technology developed by the Dara Institute, formerly the Children's Health Association.
New Projects
Since then, we have expanded our operations through new projects, the first of which was Atelier C, in 2014, focusing on generating income for the mothers served, through training in sewing and handicrafts, creating and developing new products, and selling in bazaars. In the same year, the PAF opened a service station focused on issues involving Early Childhood, to prevent risks to the full development of these children and create a favorable environment with encouragement, protection, and care.
In 2016, we structured Early Childhood as an independent project that, besides serving families taking part in the PAF project, also assisted families referred by partner daycare centers. We repositioned the brand, expanded the scope of action, and presented our new visual identity. At this time, Institute C started working with families whose composition includes children at risk and social vulnerabilities, not restricted only to the health situation.
In 2017, the Networked Education project began, focusing on the education of young people and children with difficulties in school development. That same year, we also changed headquarters and were elected for the first time one of the 100 best NGOs in Brazil by Instituto Doar, an award that is seen as a parameter of recognition for the third sector.
With the growth in demand for the work offered, in 2019, the PAF opened the door to the care of families, by spontaneous search, without the need for referral through partner public hospitals. The Early Childhood project took place on-site, directly at the Early Childhood Education Centers, which further increased the number of people impacted by our work. The income generation pillar began to be addressed within each of the three projects, so Atelier C was closed this year.
In 2020, because of the COVID pandemic, our service became 100% remote. We developed the PAF Manual with the procedures and guidelines for activities, in addition to online screening and distribution of benefits through a food card. In the middle of the year, we restarted our face-to-face activities with services in a hybrid format. In person, our care started to take place respecting health protocols. The Network Education project also opened the door to spontaneous demand and managed to reach, for the first time, students from the most diverse regions of São Paulo.
In the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Institute C, we were elected, for the 5th consecutive year, one of the 100 best NGOs in Brazil, making us one of the 10 organizations that received this recognition since the beginning of the award. In addition to operating at our headquarters in Santa Cecilia, we started to offer service for two of our projects in a community in the northern part of São Paulo, in partnership with the NGO Dha Q Brada/Cufa Minas Gás. In August, we carried out a strategic plan for 2022-2026+, in a process that lasted four months and involved the entire organization's team, the board of directors, the supervisory board, and external guests. As the main definition of this work, we united our three projects - PAF, Network Education, and Early Childhood - into a large project that will be offered by centers in communities and different service centers spread throughout São Paulo, called Citizenship on Network.
The northern zone hub of Institute C was inaugurated in the Freguesia do Ó, with multidisciplinary services in psychology, pedagogy, nutrition, income and employability, and social service serving the communities of the region, including Brasilândia, Barra Funda, and Pirituba.