Fundraise to Help Rebuild Lives
Okay so you have made your personal donation to victims of the L’Aquila earthquake what next? Redbuilding L’Aquila & the surrounding Abruzzo hill-top villages is a long-term project and we will need to continue to help raise funds & build awareness to assist in the rebuilding of so many people’s lives.
Alternatives to On-the-Ground Volunteering
At the moment Italy is saying no to offers of ground help from international volunteers, but there are many other additional ways that one can continue to help, namely by keeping the profile of the region in the news. The Gran Sasso Mountains are still experiencing both strong quakes and aftershocks of over 4 on the Richter Scale north east of L’Aquila & people continue to be evacuated from their homes at night into municipal areas for safety.
Many newspapers have already ‘finished’ covering L’Aquila, it’s not a finished story, there continues to be new devastation & fear, draw their attention to this by alerting people to the latest seismic activity published by the National Institute of Vulcanology & Seismology.
On Saturday 11th April another 3 bodies were pulled from the rubble this puts the figure at 293 now. After studying before & after photographs The Italian Space Agency has announced that in some areas there is land subsidence of 15cm. Understandably with such news peoples optimism of being able to move back into their standing houses is fading, each & every single house around the L’Aquila needs to be thoroughly checked, more so now that the Crimimal Investigation has begun into negligent building.
Ideas for Fundraising & Raising Awareness
If you have a fantastic idea how to fundraise for L’Aquila, please post your idea below. Everyone’s heads are spinning at the moment but albeit a music jamming event extraordinaire, a jumble sale in your village hall or sponsored walk tell the world what you are planning and when. L’Aquila has adopted the new slogan – “Not even if broken do we fall back” that you could incorporate into part of your fundraising message:
“Nec recisa recedit, Neachnce spezzata recede!”
Petition the Italian Government
It’s quick, free & easy – sign the ipetition to the Italian government & Development charities to ensure that L’Aquila’s cultural, historical & social rebuild uses legitimate companies who deliver works on-time and which meet all required building standards (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/laquila-renaissance/)
Need Help Organising
If you need assistance for your idea post a comment and request it, somebody with another skill base may just read your request and post an offer to help or advise to make your original idea even more successful. Who knows you may help seed someone else to grow something similar in another village, town, city or country to also raise funds for helping to re-build in all ways L’Aquila’s shattered population. We are publishing all events on the new English language group on Facebook called ‘L’Aquila Renaissance‘, please do join if you are a Facebook member.
Be Careful
Please do be careful who you donate your hard-earned monies to – we have an official list here.There has already been press reports of illegal websites and fraudsters out there trying to benefit from this tragedy, don’t get caught out by them. If you are approached by an organisation, by email or visit a website you haven’t heard of before check them out and request information about them. Your fundraised monies are too precious to get lost in the wrong hands…. We asked Joshua Lawrence, an American L’Aquila resident for 10 + years if there was anything he would ask those outside Italy to consider when deciding who to give their donations to, he said
“Make sure your donations go to charities that are investing in L’Aquila’s long-term future and prosperity. Double check that any charity ‘rebuilding’ the city has firm delivery deadlines in place & a commitment to restoring the city’s heritage and heart in addition to building new homes”.
Our Easy Online Fundraising Suggestions
If you don’t like knocking on doors, sell something online via Ebay. It’s Spring, so it’s the season to have a mini clear-out. Put what you no longer wear or find useful on Ebay and donate the profits to a charity of your choice. This is called Community Selling – read here for more information and you can donate your profits directly to the Red Cross… it’s easy :). Ebay have also now set up the option if you buy something on Ebay the option to donate £1/$1/€1 directly to the L’Aquila Earthquake Fund so now is a great time to shop!
Author: Roddy Newlands
Roddy Newlands is an Associate Member of Life In Abruzzo, as well as antique book dealer and web and graphic designer. Abruzzo allows him to get his mountain-air fix, & satisfy his passion for pasta & panettone.
