PARENT ACADEMY

Meet Mariela Stanulova and Ralitza Zhecheva. Mariela is a finance professional with educational background in the US, China and France. Upon returning to Bulgaria, she discovered her passion for social entrepreneurship and working for the benefit of others. Ralitza is a digital marketing and content creation expert. Having worked in the corporate world, she decided to utilize her skills to deliver the right information to the right people in a bid to help.

What is Parent Academy?

Parent Academy helps all future and current parents to raise healthy and happy kids. It brings together experts (live and online), who share their knowledge on topics such as pregnancy, birth, health, education, upbringing. Thus, parents can get the advice they need – verified, all in one place, at the right time. Parent Academy gives families the confidence they can deal with one of the most important challenges in their lives, while children get the timely care and support they need.

Why Parent Academy?

When Mariela became a parent, she realized she was very much underprepared for this new role. Like any parent, she had to rely on the information she was able to dig on her own – mostly online or in conversations with her relatives and friends. But it is very hard to find your way and seek out the experts and advice that can be trusted in this sea of information. Therefore, Mariela decided to set up the Parent Academy and bring together meaningful organizations, experts and parents.

How does Parent Academy operate?

For the past five years, Parent Academy has organized over 35 free events in various Bulgarian cities. At these events, parents have been able to attend lectures by experts and workshops, having fun and learning new things together with their children. They have met other parents, exchanging experience and creating a community. Over 25,000 parents have attended the events, which have brought together more than 200 organisations and experts. Dozens of thousands of other families have watched event footages and lectures online.

In a bid to reach parents in smaller towns as well, Mariela and Ralitza have decided to build an online platform featuring trainings and advice. Every parent facing a particular issue will be able to enter the platform anytime, anywhere, finding the information they need, undergoing training and finding the expert they can address for help.

Mariela and Ralitza are aware that being a good parent is a skill you can gain through knowledge and experience. Their mission is to help families provide their children with the best possible start in life. Their dream is to help every child unfold their full potential – not only because they kids deserve that, but also because they believe this is the only way to secure a happy and prosperous society.