The organization was founded in 1992 by Šimon Pánek, a student activist during the Velvet Revolution, and by Jaromír Štětina, a war correspondent from conflict areas of former Soviet Union. The organization began its work as "Nadace Lidových novin" ("The Lidové noviny Foundation", in English "Popular Newspapers") and changed its name two years later to "Nadace Člověk v tísni při České televizi" ("The People in Need Foundation under the auspices of Czech Television"). In 1999 the organization was given its current name, People in Need. Šimon Pánek has been the director of PIN since 2009. In order to deliver relief aid and development assistance, PIN works to create a tolerant, open society and mobilizes support of the public. PIN's work is most visible during big humanitarian crisis such as the floods in the Czech Republic in 2002, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (Czech people and companies donated more than 130 million CZK) or the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.