By Angelo Conti & Francesca Giannotti
60 days ago Specchio dei tempi has accepted a new challenge by opening a subscription to help contrast the Coronavirus. This was something completely new, that has never been done before in 65 years of work, and that has marked our history. This time our mission wasn’t to reconstruct things after a calamity, or help someone in a moment of difficulty. This time we had to go and fight a battle. We had to immediately intervene to help those who were fighting in first line, but at the same time we had to keep an eye on the future: on the recovery of the schools and of the daily life of the families, the entire economic activities.
With the healthcare system we worked in perfect harmony. It was clear that the status of the Foundation gave us the opportunity to operate rapidly with the suppliers, compared to the public entities that were slowed down by the bureaucratic contracts and the difficult source of the materials. This is why we decided to start buying personal protection equipment not only from local suppliers, but also contacting companies from abroad like: Taiwan, China, Japan and the rest of Europe.
Our goal was to help our doctors, nurses and responders by supplying them with masks, coast, gloves and goggles, in order for them to do their job in total safety. We have managed to provide 1,2 million PPEs, and distributed them in no-time in the areas on Turin and the Piedmont Region. The materials stayed in our storage for a minimum amount of hours. We covered 19 hospitals and almost 200 public sanitary structures and charity associations. Contemporarily we supplied 2 CT machines, dozens of pulmonary ultrasounds, monitors, beds and furniture for the new intensive care units that were set up to cure the Covid patients.
On the social sector, we have donated 5.500 grocery bags to the elderly. Theses have punctually been left on their doorstep to avoid any contact and keep them safe. 1.200 grocery bags were also delivered to the family in need, but this is just the start. We’ll be helping families until the end of the year, together with the staff of our front office, Specchio Point. We aim to help 400 families a month, 3000 families until the end of 2020. Each family will receive an economical help and a grocery bag, that will be delivered at home. This past week we have launched an announcement to help 220 small industries in the area of Turin with a grant of 5000 euros. This initiative was born together with Reale Group and has already gathered over 600 requests.
We haven’t forgot about the schools. 168 sanitizing kits have been delivered in March. 750 tablets have been distributed to the schools to help the children that come from families that live a difficult situation to help them to stay in school. Together with the Agnelli Foundation we launched an e-learning platform. Our job doesn’t stop here. We have printed billboards for schools and public offices with the safety regulations against Covid-19.
Our schedule for the next months is extremely dense. We’ll be concentrating on helping the families and the small businesses with the idea of replicating the grant in other areas of the Region. We’ll also keep a close eye on the healthcare sector and the evolution of the emergency.
Specchio dei tempi has acted as a model. Starting this week Specchio d’Italia will take action. Thanks to the request of some entities that have given us the resources to reproduce our projects also in other regions such as Lombardy, Liguria, Veneto and Friuli. The heart of Specchio dei tempi belongs to Turin and the Region of Piedmont, but we believe that this experience is for all.
