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Among the primary areas of work for the CON IL SUD Foundation is its active support of volunteering. It consists of incentives aimed at strengthening the role and increasing the impact of local volunteer organizations while promoting new methods of networking and cooperation. 

“We are convinced that volunteering plays an indispensable role in social cohesion and community growth,” stated Carlo Borgomeo, president of the CON IL SUD Foundation. “In recent years, with the critical issues caused by the pandemic and the war that exploded on our doorstep, the importance of volunteering has become even more evident in everyone’s eyes. It is a constant commitment that, with competence and passion, focuses on the welfare and needs of the community, on relationships, the wish to donate one’s time and skills, often by working in emergencies. The CON IL SUD Foundation has always promoted these values, including through concrete actions. For instance, in the past, it supported projects initiated by organizations that worked in partnerships. However, in the last two editions of the Call, it chose to directly support regular activities of single volunteer organizations from the southern provinces of Italy that have received less funding through our Calls for proposals.”

Over the years, the Foundation promoted volunteering initiatives that included support for projects submitted by multiple organizations, and it allocated more than 28 million euros to foster 409 projects in southern Italy.

For the past two years, the Foundation has decided to support organizations not based on their project proposals or their program but rather on their servicing, reliability, and experience in the communities in which they operate. With the 2021 edition of the Call for proposals, 152 volunteer organizations were selected and are still receiving the support of 3.4 million euros. 

Meanwhile, with the 2022 edition, 137 volunteer organizations from southern Italy have been selected and supported with a total of 3 million euros for carrying out and consolidating regular volunteer activities in the areas such as social assistance, health, culture, environment and sports, the promotion of volunteering, and civil protection. According to the latest estimates, only with the most recent Call for proposals, 10,000 volunteers have been involved. 

You can find more about the stories and the activities from the world of volunteering, told by their organizations, on “Esperienze con il Sud”. Please refer to the following link  https://www.esperienzeconilsud.it/?s=&region=&tag=volontariato and the blog “Stories of Volunteering” https://www.esperienzeconilsud.it/storiedivolontariato/