Roma Cares will hold special summer camps for some of the most disadvantaged children from around the Italian capital this month.
The youngsters, 120 of whom will join the club’s summer camps over the next four weeks, have been selected by the nationwide Forum del Terzo Settore and Rome’s Assessorato alla Persona, Scuola e Comunita Solidale, two welfare organisations that deal with at-risk youths. Four city districts have also helped identify participants.
The first week of the camp began this Monday, July 6; with all activities supported by Roma Cares. A further three weeks, which will run from 13-31 July, have been made possible courtesy of club partners Qatar Airways and Hyundai – who have decided to contribute to the initiative in order to support some of the club’s youngest supporters.
“We are delighted to be able to open our camps to families and children that have found themselves dealing with difficult situations,” said Francesco Calvo, AS Roma’s Chief Operating Officer. “I would like to thank all the social institutions that have come to together to help us with this initiative, and the parishes too. We are also proud to have the involvement of our partners Qatar Airways and Hyundai in this initiative, who have once again demonstrated their understanding and support of the work Roma Cares is trying to do.”
The children involved in the camps, all aged between 6-13 years old, will train at Stadio Tre Fontane – the club’s historic venue, and host for all current home games involving the club’s Women’s team and Primavera side.
“Scoring goals always brings results with it, and these special summer camps are yet another clear, important example of that,” said the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi. “If the lockdown showed that Rome is a strong and united city, then that is also because it showed it knew how to put its people, resources, structures and ideas to work to help, as much as possible, those in the most difficulty. Our hard work in that regard has not stopped, and we thank of all of those who continue to contribute, alongside us, in that direction.”
Forty of the young Roma fans will be selected from 40 different parishes within the city, with their participation supported and enabled by Roma Cares. The club’s foundation will provide a bus that will take the kids from their homes to Tre Fontane each morning. At the end of the day’s activities, the bus will them return them all home.
“We have included 40 children from within our system, living in various areas around the city, for these camps,” said Veronica Mammi, Assessor for Roma Capitale. “Heading out of a lockdown that has tested all of us, it is more important than ever to offer new opportunities for kids to play, to grow and to be stimulated. That’s especially true for those children that have recently been living in some of the toughest conditions. As an administration we have put a real focus on summer centres, using 6 million euros allocated to us by the city in order to reopen Casina di Raffaello as a special summer centre dedicated to the arts and creativity. Today, thanks to Roma Cares and the support of Terzo Settore, we have made another important step in offering outlets for the younger members of our city.”
All the children involved will receive expert instruction from a number of Roma coaches. They will enjoy two training sessions every day, with lunch and a number of other activities also planned. Those activities will also include various educational and socially responsible programmes, including the ‘No Bulli’ anti-bullying campaign run by Lazio Regione, another ongoing Roma Cares collaborator.
“Once again AS Roma, through its foundation Roma Cares, is showing particular support to the city’s most vulnerable children and families,” said Francesca Danese, spokesperson for Terzo Settore in Lazio. “These 40 kids, identified thanks to assistance from the Salvation Army and Parents’ Association of the area, will now have a chance they would otherwise be denied to spend their days playing, socialising and being creative with other kids from other areas. The care-free and open nature of the young kids can then become an example within their own communities, some of the most fragile in our city. Terzo Settore is delighted to be able to assist this cause, which represents a true, proud alliance between a number of different parties from the worlds of sport and social work. A proud alliance that can only help the city.”
(Photo Getty Images)
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Source: legaseriea.it