Ivan Stancioff is 92- Happy Birthday to the Bulgarian with a Big Heart!

1 April 2021

Ivan Stancioff at 92!
We wish him to be happy, healthy and continue to inspire with his personal example and life!

Almost a quarter of a century ago, returning to Bulgaria, Ivan Stancioff fulfilled a big dream of his – he created Karin Dom with a lot of love in some difficult times. Karin Dom is the embodiment of his love for children and the dream that every child will be raised with love, learn and have a happy childhood. Today, that bold dream lives on, evolving in sync with the changing needs of our society and offering support to children and their families.
The beginning was made 25 years ago, and Karin Dom’s dreams continue to be as bold and with a vision for the future.

Ivan Stancioff was born on April 1, 1929 in Sofia. He is the son of Ivan Dimitrov Stanchov (1897-1972) and Marion Mitchell Stancioff (1903-1994). He has three brothers and three sisters. The family was forced to emigrate from Bulgaria in 1943. for political reasons. Ivan Stancioff Jr. graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, USA. He served in the American Army (in the Bulgarian Company in Germany). He worked for IBM in New York, Rio de Janeiro and Paris, where he held managerial positions in the marketing research and sales departments. He is the vice president of ITEL and Storage Technology corporations in London. Ivan Stancioff is constantly engaged in charitable and socially beneficial activities. Founder, honorary member and lifetime ambassador of the idea and values of the Karin Dom Foundation, founder of the Gavrosh House – Varna, etc.

Ivan Stancioff or Johnny as his friends call him is a philanthropist, traveler, gardener, dreamer and eternal optimist for whom nothing is impossible, he dedicates his life to the cause of children with special needs and inspires many followers to dream together for a better one world. Ivan Stancioff has lived abroad for many years, but he never forgot his Bulgarian roots, and in 1996 he created the Karin Dom Foundation in his ancestral house in the Sea Garden of Varna with one big dream – to have no children left in homes.

You can learn more about the beloved diplomat, philanthropist and amateur gardener – Ambassador Ivan Stancioff from the following links:

The exceptional film about the life of Ivan Stancioff – “The Knight with the Knapsack”
Do you know who Karin is and why Karin Dom is named that way?
Since 2016 The Bulgarian school at the Embassy of Bulgaria in London is named after Ambassador Ivan Stancioff. The reason the school is named after him is because it owes its survival to him. Ivan Stanchov was ambassador to Great Britain in 1991. Shortly before that, our school in London was closed due to lack of support funds from the Bulgarian state. Mr. Stancioff decided that he would revive it with his own funds, and for a while it was entirely on his own. Children aged 4 to 18 are educated at the Bulgarian School in London.
In 2016 Karin Dom filmed the film “Karin Dom – 20 years of Ambassadors of Good” – you can see the conversation with Ambassador Ivan Stancioff about traditions, love for children and faith in their future.
In 2017 Karin Dom opened the museum “Ambassadors of Goodness” in its building, dedicated to charity and philanthropy. The hall pays special attention to the Varna track in supporting some of the most vulnerable groups, such as children with special needs. This part of the history of our city is told through the life and work of Ivan Stancioff.
In 2018 Ivan Stancioff, was awarded the “Heart of Bulgaria” award, for his exceptional donation activity and for his huge contribution to the creation of “Karin Dom” – a therapeutic center for children with special needs, located in the family house of the Stancioff family in Varna.
In 2019 on the occasion of the 90th birthday of its founder, Karin Dom republished his father’s book “Diplomat and Gardener” in Bulgarian and English and organized an evening dedicated to the anniversary of its founder in Morsko Casino, Varna.
In 2019 in Karin Dom, the BNT film about the history and building of Karin Dom (villa “Three Wells” of the Stancioff family) was filmed by the sweet-talking storyteller of Varna – Hristiyan Oblakov and memories of our wonderful Zhechka Ivanova, Montessori teacher at Karin Dom.