As part of its ongoing social responsibility project Together Against All, the Rytas Vilnius basketball club is dedicating the month of April to a pressing social issue: the foster care and adoption of older children. In partnership with SOS vaikų kaimai Lietuva, the club is calling on the public to turn its attention toward teenagers who are often overlooked due to systemic gaps and societal misconceptions.
Current statistics in Lithuania remain sobering: in 2025, not a single child aged 10–17 was adopted. Currently, approximately 1,000 children are waiting for permanent homes and the warmth of a family. The organization SOS vaikų kaimai Lietuva is currently caring for about 40 children, the majority of whom are teenagers facing the challenges of forced early maturity.
Martynas Giga, Director of Rytas Vilnius, emphasizes that the basketball community cannot remain a bystander when faced with such systemic injustice.
“In basketball, age is an advantage, but in the foster care system, it often becomes a sentence. The statistic showing that not a single teenager found a home in a year is a disgrace to us all as a society,” says M. Giga. “We are used to seeing foster care through rose-tinted glasses—as help for small children—but the real struggle is for those who already have their own characters and their own scars. Our ‘Together Against All’ initiative asserts that no one should be left alone. We cannot turn them back into infants, but we can provide the support system they never had.”
The campaign slogan—“Anti-aging cream won’t help them. But you can”—serves as a direct challenge to public indifference. It is a metaphor for children who cannot “de-age” to meet the typical expectations of adoptive parents. These youth do not need cosmetic solutions or pity; they require professional psychological support, education, and, most importantly, the belief that their future is not predetermined simply because they have already grown up.
“Today in Lithuania, we still have children who are forced to grow up too soon and face challenges they are not yet prepared for. Therefore, it is especially important to have partners who help create a safe and supportive environment where children can simply be children,” says Diana Ustinovaitė, Head of Communications at SOS vaikų kaimai Lietuva. “We are grateful that the Rytas team and its community are not indifferent to these problems and are contributing to this change.”
Throughout April, during home games and across the club’s social media channels, Rytas will actively communicate ways to support the organization’s mission. All members of the community are invited to allocate 1.2% of their Income Tax (GPM) to SOS vaikų kaimai Lietuva. these funds are directly converted into psychological assistance, education, and a safe environment for the children who need it most.
For more information on how to help children grow up: sosvaikukaimai.lt