#donosalute: this evocative hashtag accompanies the new solidarity campaign everybody can take part in. In this state of emergency concerning our entire country, many have manifested a desire to give their support at both national and local level; these include not only medical staff – already working hard as our first line fighting and containing the COVID-19 emergency – but also ordinary people. In this view, the association Friends of Biella’s Hospital has launched and is promoting a fundraising for the specific support of the hospital’s wards particularly affected by the situation, i.e. the intensive and semi-intensive care units, and the emergency room. The group organises activities and projects to improve the hospital’s standards, in particular raising funds to offer its operators grants and specialisation courses, for example, thus integrating what the national health service makes available.
“We would never have thought we would have to face an emergency as merciless and uncontrollable as this, similar to a war, – the non-profit organisation’s president Leo Galligani explains – it’s a scary and bewildering situation because it bares our vulnerability, our routines are upset and we don’t know how imminent the actual risk is. Our medical personnel are indefatigable in their communicating with each other proposing solutions to protect us, in sacrificing themselves and their families for the sake of us all. Our hospital needs more technology beyond all the resources already dedicated to this emergency. We are proud to be surrounded by important Biellese subjects who have given a lot to our territory even in recent past, and thanks to whom the hospital’s services have reached the present scale and quality level. They are now back to help. Like everyone else from this extraordinary territory”.
How to donate
Everybody can back this initiative giving their support. To offer a contribution – of any amount – to the association Friends of Biella’s Hospital you can make a bank transfer specifying ‘Donazione Covid-19’ as the reason for it, followed by your name and fiscal code. These are the IBANs of reference: Biverbanca, IT87 Q060 9022 3000 0000 1000 314; Banca Sella, IT56 F032 6844 4300 5211 7928 350. You can also use your credit card or Paypal (please click here for all the details). You can otherwise donate directly to the hospital (IBAN: IT22Z0609022308000008000088; reason: ‘Donazione Covid-19’, followed by your name and fiscal code; SWIFT code: CRBIIT2B; treasurer: Biverbanca SPA).
“As always, – says Diego Poggio, commissioner of the local health service – the Biellese community is showing its generosity and has activated to support us in this difficult moment. On behalf of Biella’s health service I want to thank Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Biella and all the organisations from the territory that, with a great spirit of solidarity, in the last few hours have contacted our offices to offer something: from financial support for the purchase of machines to simple gestures like buying pizzas for our operators personally dealing with the emergency. The situation we are experiencing is quite complex, but seeing that the Biellese community is united and supportive helps us, also emotionally, in our striving to overcome this emergency as soon as possible”.
The contributions so far
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Biella has already adhered donating 100.000 euros destined to the purchase of monitoring systems, beds for the intensive care units, lung ventilators, and other machines and materials necessary to face the Coronavirus emergency; in collaboration with Banca Simetica, it has also allocated 100.000 euros to provide services of home assistance for fragile individuals through a grant for the project fragile community. Other companies and associations from the territory like Gruppo Banca Sella, Lanificio Fratelli Piacenza, Fondazione Zegna, Fondo Edo Tempia, Lions Club Bugella Civitas and a few private citizens are completing their donation processes. The hospital is receiving sanitary items for individual protection (masks) and someone is thinking about the medical personnel too, like Panificio Spigadoro in Biella, which is producing and sending pizzas and focaccia bread for the operators working in the emergency room, in the intensive and semi-intensive units and at the call centre.
“Fondazione CRB – its president Franco Ferraris reminds us – has always been at the forefront when it comes to protecting public health, it’s also thanks to its contribution that Biella has one of the most technologically advanced hospitals. Today, faced with the sanitary emergency caused by the Coronavirus, Fondazione renews its commitment along the association Friends of Biella’s Hospital and Biella’s health service starting the fundraising with an extraordinary donation of 100.000 euros for the purchase of urgent medical machines for our fellow citizens. We need everybody’s help to defeat the virus and we are sure that the big heart of the local population will once again assist us in this fight”.
The African fairy tale
When it comes to donating, it’s easy to sound rhetorical, but in this case, as with any issue concerning medical research or support, any contribution is invaluable. Science and solidarity can unite in the name of cure.
There was a big fire in the forest and all the animals started to run away.
They said: “We can’t do anything. The fire is too big!” They waited for some bigger animals to put out the fire. Then they saw a little hummingbird. The hummingbird decided: “I will help put out the fire.” So the hummingbird flew to the river, picked up a small amount of water, returned and put it on the fire. The hummingbird saw that the first drops of water did not put out the fire, but he continued flying to the river and back. The other animals laughed at him and said: “What are you doing? Did you put out the fire?” The hummingbird replied: “I’m doing what I can!”
(African fairy tale)
