[In the month of September, we will once again host the fifth annual “Celebrity Fight Night” events in Florence. The American foundation began collaborating with the Bocelli family in 2014 to bring the exclusive events to Italy, with the proceeds from the efforts going to both the Muhamman Ali Parkinsons Centre in Phoenix and to the educational projects of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.
This year’s edition will culminate in the biggest open-air amphitheatre in the world, the Area of Verona. The spectacular event will see our founder, Maestro Andrea Bocelli, joined by many other world-class artists, actors, athletes and friends from all over the globe. The operatic performance will be held live in front of the 150 Celebrity Fight Night donors, and many other members of the public, and will be steamed in prime time on Rai Uno, the main Italian TV channel, on September 9th.
The concert in Verona will also be the evening that will give our SMS fundraising campaign the most visibility and media exposure. The fundraising is focused on ABF’s project “Educate to Grow”. This year it is supporting the reconstruction of the pre-school and primary school of Muccia, a municipality in the Marches region located by the epicentre of the Central Italy earthquake of 2016.
The campaign has already begun on Sunday August 26th, and will be active until September 11th. It is possible to donate 2 euros with an SMS to the number 45580 from a mobile phone using WIND|3, TIM, Vodafone, PosteMobile, CoopVoce and Tiscali, or call the same number with TWT, Convergenze and PosteMobile from a landline to donate 5 euros, or donate 5 or 10 euros by calling from a TIM, WIND|3, Fastweb, Vodafone or Tiscali landlines.
In addition it will be possible to send a donation via bank transfer to the following IBAN: IT78G0523271030000000013903
made out to C/C Fondazione Andrea Bocelli or directly with credit card on donate.andreabocellifoundation.org/project/central-italy-earthquake-emergency.
After building the ‘Giacomo Leopardi’ school in Sarnano, in the province of Macerata, inaugurated last May and realized in just 150 days, the Foundation has decided to realize a new building applying the same approach in Muccia, just a few kilometers from the second earthquake “crater”. The demolition of the remains of the old facility and the new building will take place within a concerted action plan with the Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction and the Regional School Office (URS) of the Marches Region. Like for Sarnano, the new school will be donated to the local administration as a “turnkey” project.
This project was born out of necessity, but also looks onto the future of the students and of the community. In a place where 95% of buildings is not fit to live in, building a functional and safe school with spaces open also to the local community means giving back a secure and safe point of refence for daily life to a place that has been very vulnerable since the earthquake. The town Major has expressed his support, “In Muccia, where the situation is still disastrous, rebuilding a school means starting over from the roots of society, for the children of tomorrow and for their families. Day after day we are striving to bring back the services and reference points to the village. Now, thanks to this project, we will be able to provide an important and tangible symbol of confidence and hope to the entire community.”
The children of Muccia and Sarnano will be present for the big event in Verona, sat together as testimony of what has already been accomplished and what we are working towards. Next to them will also sit the Major of Sarnano, Franco Ceregioli, who has commented on the project: “Through its devastation, this earthquake has demonstrated how big the hearts of Italians are in times of difficulties. The reconstruction of the school in Sarnano represents not only the construction of a physical functional building, it also brings confidence to our children and their future. The new school that ABF will build in Muccia will allow the children of the town to benefit from the same confidence growth and will bring great hope to all affected by the earthquake.”
We conclude by inviting you, just like our Founder, to support ABF’s educational project, as “every contribution, even if modest, will be important and make a difference”.
To find out more about the project : andreabocellifoundation.org/projects/reconstruction-of-the-pre-school-and-the-primary-school-in-the-municipality-of-muccia-central-italy-earthquake-intervention/
