The Community Foundation of Agrigento and Trapani confirms its commitment to dealing with the social and economic emergency resulting from the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. In fact, after creating a food support operation for the weakest and most fragile among us through the purchase of over 2,000 shopping vouchers, in recent days it has launched a new initiative to combat child educational poverty.
With the closure of schools, families also had to reinvent their role in the face of a new way of schooling with the application of distance learning. If the use of technology to educate and train young people, on the one hand, represents an opportunity, on the other, it risks increasing the cultural, social and economic gaps between those children and young people who live in situations of poverty and fragility. For this reason the Community Foundation of Agrigento and Trapani, in collaboration with Lenovo, the first PC manufacturer in the world, has made 32 notebooks available to children and young people from a few primary and secondary schools in Agrigento, Licata, Realmonte, Trapani, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Petrosino, S. Ninfa, and Partanna. The children most at risk of educational poverty were identified thanks to the collaboration of the Provincial School Offices and educational institutions.
This intervention was made possible thanks to donations received from the fundraising promoted by the Community Foundation which allowed for the purchase of 16 notebooks for a total of 7,500 Euro. In addition, another 16 notebooks were donated by the multinational Lenovo for a total of 32 donated notebooks.
“Technology gives us a great opportunity to continue to safeguard the educational and training relationship,” says the director of the Community Foundation Giuseppe La Rocca. “In this emergency situation, however, many children and young people were not yet equipped to take advantage of distance learning and so there was a risk of increasing the gaps and worsening at-risk situations of educational poverty. For this reason, we decided to provide some children and young people in our community with the technological tools necessary to continue their schooling.”
Natasha Perfetti, Lenovo’s Country Marketing Manager for Italy, commented: “The Covid-19 emergency has called on all of us to radically change our habits and it is for this reason that maintaining solid reference points is of paramount importance, especially for children. Beyond the family, the primary reference point for younger children is school, which, through didactic continuity and social contact, supports them in their social and emotional growth. In a situation that sees us engaged in distance learning, being able to access the most appropriate technologies is a primary necessity which is why Lenovo has taken action to respond to numerous appeals, including those of the Community Foundation of Agrigento and Trapani, which we are proud to support.”
To face this emergency straining all of our communities and, at the same time, further demonstrate the beautiful face of an Italy that does not give up and helps those in need, you can donate at the following link or by contacting the Community Foundation secretariat@fcagrigentotrapani.it