Cultural and architectural barriers, innovative projects to break them down

To break down architectural and cultural barriers and help those most in need, starting with women victims of violence and their children. These are the objectives of MSD CrowdCaring, the initiative born 5 years ago with which 80 solidarity projects have already been implemented throughout the national territory. The total financing amounts to over 820 thousand euros raised from 2018 to today, to a co-financing of 350 thousand euros from MSD, a leading multinational in the pharmaceutical sector, and to more than 5,700 supporters. A path that the company confirmed it wanted to continue on January 22nd, during a meeting in Rome. Among others, the event was attended by president and managing director of MSD Italia,
Nicoletta Luppiand the legal representative of the Eppela platform, Paola D'Agostino. The idea was born to support innovative projects aimed at improving people's health and quality of life by promoting equity, inclusion and diversity, without disability, illness or any other form of unfavorable condition being a limit. . An initiative that confirms the commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) of MSD, a company present in Italy for 68 years, which co-finances the projects accepted on the platform, contributing to their implementation.

The projects

Among the projects presented Free from, Free for promoted by the Differenza Donna Association: the initiative was created to guarantee, in one year, immediate protection to 65 women victims of trafficking and sexual and labor exploitation. It wants to ensure access to health, justice, social and work reintegration to allow women to develop awareness of their rights and recover their self-determination. The funds raised through the crowdfunding campaign helped to guarantee, among other things: a contribution to legal assistance to allow women who survived trafficking to protect their rights and access international protection; a contribution to the career orientation and social inclusion process in order to achieve economic and housing independence; tablets and PCs to promote linguistic and digital integration and literacy; an air conditioner to be installed in one of the rooms of the women guests of the centre.

Summer for mothers aims to offer mothers of children with disabilities a moment of relaxation while their children attend job placement courses. It is promoted by the Perugia committee of the Red Cross.

In the initiative Let's give a hug Asd Franco Ballerini cycling school in Bari aims to provide special hug bikes to children with disabilities and autism to allow them to experience the happiness of cycling supported and hugged by their loved ones in complete safety.

Is called An Unbeatable Pop-Up! the project aimed at opening a clothing shop in Turin, with the aim of promoting the complete inclusion of people with disabilities. The idea of ​​the Insuperabili non-profit organization.

From the experience gained by the members of No Barriers Riders in motor therapy and in the initiatives of The Motorcyclists' Fairy Tales, a new way of experiencing emotions on two wheels was born: No road barriers. The project was born from the collaboration between families, operators and volunteers for the creation of days and weekends of motorbike trips with small groups of adults with disabilities. A new and exclusive experience for those who can only dream of motorbikes, or enjoy them in short and sporadic moments.

It has a name that is a whole program W WAVES R – When the radio goes wow! the program with which to support the potential of the young inhabitants of Laurentino 38, a suburban neighborhood of Rome, building together a path of growth and training through an expressive, versatile and dynamic medium such as the radio. The initiative promoted by the Pontedcontro social promotion association.

Virtuous example

The meeting was attended by, among others, Marcella Mallen, president of ASviS, the parliamentarians Beatrice Lorenzin, Annarita Patriarca, Gian Antonio Girelli, who have always been very attentive and focused on the topic of inclusion. The announcement Msd in line with its commitment to CSR for which provides over 3 billion dollars worldwide every year. precisely that commitment beyond research, one of the cornerstones of MSD, which allows us to pursue environmental, social and governance (ESG) excellence, in line with the sustainable development objectives (SDGS) – it was underlined – within a rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. Our social commitment, adhering to a now historic corporate social responsibility policy and a mission that aims to save and improve people's lives, has always translated into projects capable of leading to concrete actions and results capable of generating a positive impact – claimed Nicoletta Luppi -. Msd CrowdCaring is a virtuous example of this. From its inception to today, thanks to a collective commitment that has seen the sharing of skills, objectives and needs, it has succeeded in breaking down barriers and promoting the culture of diversity, equity and inclusion that MSD promotes. an initiative that sees in its foundations two key factors, as well as two pillars of the country's social, economic and cultural development, namely sustainability – in the broadest sense of the term – and innovation. Realizing – not just imagining – a better, fairer, healthier future means rethinking the way we operate, create value and collaborate. Only by acting responsibly and in a synergistic and integrated manner will we be able to make a difference in people's lives, added the CEO.

The platform

Msd CrowdCaring created in collaboration with Eppela, the main Italian crowdfunding platform which, with a bottom-up financing system, allows you to create different types of fundraising: from solidarity campaigns to the creation of products or events, Eppela is the ideal place to involve people and turning dreams into reality. We are proud to support MSD Italia on this path, where innovation is intertwined with inclusion and diversity is not a limit, but a driver of growth and improvement. Through the Eppela platform, bottom-up financing becomes a catalyst for those projects that aim to transform society, promoting gender equality, intergenerational support and breaking down the barriers imposed by disability and illness, says Nicola Lencioni, sole president of Eppela. The selected projects that achieve the bottom-up financing objectives access co-financing from MSD Italia in the role of mentor, with the aim of contributing to the financing and implementation of the best projects relating in particular to: the removal of barriers and limitations caused by disability, illness or diversity; to the creation of an intergenerational network, promoting the elimination of the generation gap; to initiatives that promote gender equality, the development of inclusive work environments, the creation and development of mutual support networks for women. An important contribution to breaking down all barriers, to improve everyday life and bring us closer to each other.

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