This is the list of associations that are part of the Charity Programme of the StraLugano. When registering, choose to whom the entire participation fee should be donated.
AMCA Associazione per l'aiuto medico al Centro America
The Association AMCA (Aiuto Medico al Centro America), in the framework of international cooperation, supports aid and development projects in different fields: health, education/training, emergency aid and environment, with the aim of contributing to improving the living conditions of the most needy people, especially women and children. We support projects that are sustainable in terms of future development and that can be taken on by the partners involved. We implement strict financial management through transparent accounting, following the Zewo guidelines. We ensure the efficient use of donated funds, respecting their destination. We promote voluntary work and the exchange of experience both in Switzerland and internationally. We act by ensuring the training of volunteers and their introduction into projects, accompanying their return.
AMCA Associazione per l'aiuto medico al Centro America Piazza Grande 23 6512 Giubiasco Email [email protected] Web www.amca.ch
Ankur For The World Association
Ankur For The World was founded in memory of Ankur Singhal by his friends and family. Ankur's life was tragically cut short by an incurable cancer. The mission and motivation of the association is inspired by the historical events of her life: to create an impact by connecting different worlds, to use education as a tool to open up the world of opportunities and to help others see the world in a positive way despite the difficulties. Ankur For The World helps children understand the importance of education and supports them in their learning journey.
ASPI Fondazione della Svizzera italiana per Aiuto Sostegno Protezione Infanzia
ASPI is a non-profit foundation in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland whose mission is the prevention of all forms of violence, maltreatment and sexual abuse against children. Thanks to its specific prevention programmes in schools, its training and awareness-raising activities and its expertise services, ASPI is the main reference organisation in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland for the respect, rights and good treatment of children aged 0 to 18.
ASPI Fondazione della Svizzera italiana per Aiuto Sostegno Protezione Infanzia Via Povrò 16
6932 Breganzona (Massagno)
Email [email protected] Web www2.aspi.ch
Associazione Culture Ticino Network
The Culture Ticino Network Association in Lugano, founded in 2011, is a non-profit, apolitical and non-religious association. It promotes the culture of peace, human and environmental well-being with various initiatives and activities, both national and international. Never as in these difficult times, there is a need to spread the culture of peace, solidarity with the poorest and the importance of human rights among all generations, from the youngest to the decision-making authorities. The Association has already done this in the past with its traditional solidarity events, including the “Round Tables”, the after-school activities “Petals of Peace” and the “Village of Peace” which involves, for over 10 years, schools from Ticino and Italy through workshops focusing on humanitarian issues, peace and respect for human beings, animals and the environment. In addition, 6 years ago the Association began supporting several projects in the Philippines, including the restructuring of an orphanage and helping malnourished, poor children through a feeding program. In 2022, the Culture Ticino Network founded the sister association “Culture Ticino Network and Philippines Association” in Paombong (Philippines). From 2020 to 2021 the Culture Ticino Network Association, with the collaboration of its local partners, distributed more than 4’000 food packages, medical and school supplies to the poorest families in Paombong and in the Bulacan region of the Philippines. In 2022, the Association launched, in cooperation with the historic Bignasca SA bakery in Sonvico, a special fund-raising campaign, through the sale of the cake “Gioia Esotica”, to support “scholarships (Tesda programmes) and start-ups” in the pastry and bakery sector in the Bulacan region of the Philippines. The funds raised by the 4Charity Run will finance our Association's projects in Ticino! A heartfelt thanks to you for your support! Save the date! - 13 October 2022: Cross-border event "Walking for Peace" (in Malcantone) - From 19 November to 15 December 2022: the 10th “World Forum for Peace” in Lugano
The aim of the Association is to bring together people with trisomy 21, more commonly known as Down's Syndrome, their parents, friends and interested legal persons or institutions to pool their individual experiences for mutual help. In particular, the Association aims to: > To contribute to the development of the human personality of people with Down's syndrome in all its expressions and to the removal of obstacles that prevent the implementation of the principles of freedom, equality, equal social dignity, equal opportunities, by promoting the exercise of the right to health, social protection, education, culture, training, work and the enhancement of personal attitudes and skills. > To be a point of reference for information on the specific problems of trisomy 21 and any technological, medical, educational, professional and other solutions that may improve the quality of life of people with this syndrome and their families. > Ensuring that parents, the public and the authorities are better informed about the problems inherent in the social integration of people with this genetic anomaly.
Manishimwe is a proper name which, in the KINYARWANDA language, means 'blessed by God'. In the summer of 2009, little Manishimwe Goretti (Nicole) came to Switzerland for adoption. The Manishimwe association was founded in 2011 with the aim of collaborating in the construction and growth of a school in the village of Masaka, Rwanda. Opened in 2013 in a provisional location, with 43 pupils, the St Vincent Pallotti school now has more than 1000 pupils aged 3 to 16 and more than 50 teaching and support staff. In the meantime, two school buildings (primary and secondary) have been built. Most of the pupils come from poor families, so our project provides financial support to enable these children to have a basic education and pedagogical and didactic supervision by local teachers following the Rwandan school programme.
Associazione Manishimwe c/o Giacomo Baruffaldi
6953 Lugaggia
Web www.manishimwe.ch
Associazione SwissLimbs
SwissLimbs is a non-profit organisation that implements initiatives in the field of rehabilitation, orthopaedic services and high-mobility artificial limbs. > It assists amputees and disabled people by providing affordable orthopedic equipment and materials designed specifically for developing countries. > It creates or rehabilitates ortho-prosthetic workshops, which are then managed by local professionals and technicians, who also develop SwissLimbs' new low-cost technologies. > Has a pool of specialized trainers at home and abroad, who teach technicians in the most innovative low-cost ortho-prosthetic technologies. SwissLimbs engages in capacity building of local professionals and organizations. Our aim is to adapt technologies and expertise to benefit technicians and the health system as a whole.
Atgabbes – associazione ticinese di genitori ed amici dei bambini bisognosi di educazione speciale
The main objective of Atgabbes is to create opportunities for meetings and exchanges between parents of children with disabilities, with a view to school, professional and social integration. By focusing on new needs, the aim is to contribute to the search for solutions at local and cantonal level. In addition, the Association is a partner among the different components of society interested in the issue of disability in order to ensure that parents, the public and the authorities are well informed on the issue of education, vocational training and social integration of people with disabilities. The activities offered by the Association have developed over the years and are offered both by the regional groups and at the cantonal level by the secretariat: integrated camps and colonies. 280 volunteers for more than 300 participants, children, young people and adults with disabilities, culture and training courses for adults (54 courses for 380 enrolled), two integrated kindergartens for early integration, word groups for parents, thematic evenings and much more.
Atgabbes – associazione ticinese di genitori ed amici dei bambini bisognosi di educazione speciale Via Canevascini 4
6900 Lugano
Email [email protected] Web www.atgabbes.ch
City Angels Svizzera
We are a voluntary association founded in 1994 in Milan on the initiative of Mario Furlan. You can recognise us by our blue beret, the symbol of the UN peacekeeping forces, and our red jacket, the colour of the emergency. We help the most vulnerable: homeless people, migrants, drug addicts, alcoholics, victims of crime. We are a safe point of reference for citizens and a deterrent for criminals: if we see someone committing a crime, we don't look the other way, we intervene! The history of our association began in 1994, when Mario Furlan founded it in Milan. In the most problematic area of the city: the Central Station. The aim: to assist the marginalised and protect citizens who are victims of delinquency. The first meeting place was the Chiesa del Carmine, in Brera; the first place of social commitment was the hostel for homeless people run by Fratel Ettore, in via Sammartini, next to the station. The official inauguration of the Association, after months of semi-clandestine activity, took place on 8 February 1995 in the Chiesa del Carmine. After initial mistrust - and at times open hostility - on the part of the authorities, recognition from the institutions arrived. It took the form of registration in the register of non-profit organisations and, in 1999, the highest honour in Milan: the Ambrogino d'Oro, which was awarded to the Association for the second time in 2008. Over the years, new Angels offices were opened in Rome, Turin, Varese, Parma and Brescia. Today there are 17. All united by the same humanitarian spirit.
At Compassion, we believe that poverty is not inevitable. We also believe in the value and potential of children. That's why, for over 60 years, Compassion has been providing practical help by supporting children living in extreme poverty in developing countries through 1 to 1 sponsorships. Today 2 million children are supported in 25 countries on 3 continents (Africa, Asia and Latin America). In collaboration with nearly 7,000 local churches as Compassion partners, we provide access to schooling, medical check-ups, education on hygiene, nutrition and health, as well as activities for growth and child development. The goal is to show the children that they have value, allowing them to live a dignified life and develop their talents. The exchange of letters allows sponsors to especially encourage a child living in extreme poverty. Compassion Switzerland is a non-profit organization recognized as being of public utility. Let’s change the world together, one child at a time.
The Mission Bambini Switzerland Foundation was created on 28 January 2015 in Lugano by the Mission Bambini Italy Foundation. The aim of the Foundation is to give concrete help to poor, sick, uneducated children who have suffered physical or moral violence and to give them the opportunity and hope of a life worthy of a person.
We promote, encourage and support education and vocational training with the final purpose of giving means to young independent women and men that will be able to contribute to the development and improvement of their Country. An idea of Africa where everyone has the opportunity to access education and vocational training, and to develop her or his own personality and potential overcoming all kind of discrimination and abuse. We collaborate with local organizations with a particular attention to the quality of the support and to the integrity of education and vocational training, in total respect of the culture and peculiarities of the places in which we operate. We promote and support literacy training for girls, boys and young people. We sponsor teachers training and the consequent elaboration of didactic tools. We build schools, laboratories, multipurpose halls, wells, playgrounds and hostels for students and we furnish classrooms in order to guarantee educational and vocational training to the highest number of students possible. Without you nothing of all this could be possible!
Telethon is a major solidarity action to raise funds for people, resident in our country, affected by rare genetic diseases. All the net funds raised are used, without exception, in Switzerland to support research projects (50%) and social aid projects (50%): this distribution key may vary, depending on the year, by 5%. Thousands of volunteers, fire brigades, civil defence, Lions Clubs, service clubs, various associations, sports clubs, music groups, leisure groups, etc. are mobilised throughout Switzerland in support of Telethon!
Fondazione Telethon Azione Svizzera Segretariato della Svizzera Italiana
Casella Postale 4518
6904 Lugano
Email [email protected] Web www.telethon.ch
G.I.C.A.M. Groupe International Chirurgiens Amis de la Main
G.I.C.A.M. is an international NGO based in Switzerland. Founded in 1998 to unite hand surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons and microsurgeons to care for children and poor people in need of operations worldwide. The president of GICAM is Prof. Lanzetta Marco, a pioneer in hand surgery. Over the past 25 years, several missions have taken place in Eastern Europe, West Africa (Sierra Leone, Togo, Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso), East Africa (Kenya and Uganda) and Asia (India). Surgeons, nurses, hand therapists and physiotherapists from Switzerland, Italy, Australia, the Czech Republic, Canada and Poland have joined us on our missions over the years. Generally, our mission lasts one or two weeks. A flying operating theatre, with equipment, surgical instruments, everything needed to operate on sick, deformed, traumatised or amputated hands, to give back a future, a job and hope to those who no longer have one. Expenses are reduced to the bone: no administrative costs, no waste in building, equipping, equipping with technology spaces and structures that would soon have to be improved, repaired, or managed. No staff other than those working in the field, no additional costs. Everything we are given in financial terms goes straight into the box, and supports surgical activities. All we need is a hospital that hosts us for a short period, let's say 3-4 weeks, we arrive with the "box", we transport our instruments to the operating department, we start operating on previously selected patients, according to a screening that gives priority to children and women. Then we close everything up and go home to reintegrate the container, ready for another mission. The physiotherapists remain in the field for a certain period to train those reconstructed hands to become useful again, to move in a harmonious and functional manner. In this way, time is optimised, costs are reduced, action is taken in several areas, data can be simply documented and the result indicators are there for all to see. Everything is transparent, verifiable and accountable to those who help us financially.
G.I.C.A.M. Groupe International Chirurgiens Amis de la Main Via Luigi Lavizzari 4
6900 Lugano
Email [email protected] Web www.gicam.net
Genitori e Amici Scuole San Benedetto GASSB
The aim of the Parents and Friends of San Benedetto Schools Association (GASSB), founded in 2004, is to support the San Benedetto Foundation Schools by promoting initiatives aimed at making the educational project of the Schools known and experienced, and keeping in touch with all the parents of our pupils and all the families and friends who are close to the Association. There are many projects that are close to our hearts, some of which are: promoting the meeting of parents and educators with educational experts through organised events, raising funds for scholarships for deserving pupils whose families are unable to bear all or part of the cost of the annual fees, publication of the magazine ScuolaViva, preparation of Christmas baskets, the end-of-year party at the SB Schools, support for the school library.
Getting back on track after a serious injury or illness can be physically and morally demanding. The benefits of regular physical activity are unquestionable, but practising physical activity in unfavourable psycho-physical conditions can prove to be an extraordinary path to personal recovery and social integration. The InSuperAbili association is an official branch of the Swiss Paraplegic Association in Nottwil (www.spv.ch) and offers its members a wide range of sporting activities, as well as cultural and leisure activities such as trips, wine and food dinners, visits to museums... Among the various sports, the most important is certainly handcycling, which is also practised at a competitive level in international competitions. The association currently has 280 members, 75 of whom are disabled. Activities are carried out with qualified monitors. The mission of the association is: •
To promote sport practised by people with disabilities the promotion of social, cultural and sporting activities among its members •
To protect the interests of people with disabilities towards the public and authorities •
To encourage and develop friendship and solidarity among members •
Promote equal opportunities for myeloma patients in society •
To cooperate with other public or private bodies with similar aims •
Break down architectural barriers
In the heart of Lugano there is a welcoming structure for families, young people and children. A place to meet and share many activities prepared as well as moments of free and spontaneous play. After the recent works, today the city oratory looks like a magical place. Colourful. From the synthetic grass football pitch to the storytelling room, with themed classrooms: pirates, the sweet studio, the 500, the cinema room and many others. Currently directed by Don Emanuele di Marco.
Procap Ticino is the leading Swiss organisation for people with disabilities. Founded in 1930 as the Swiss Disability Association, it currently has more than 20,000 members in 45 regional sections, including Procap Ticino. Switzerland has more than half a million people with disabilities, who should be able to live as independently and fairly as possible despite their disability. This is at least the point of view of Procap, which is strongly attached to it at all political levels. Procap Ticino assists and advises people with disabilities on all questions and issues related to disability, in particular social security issues (DI, AVS, IPG, sickness and 2nd pillar), providing legal advice or simply meeting people.
Avventuno combines the concepts of "Future, Adventure, Trisomy 21" (Avvenire, Avventura, Trisomia 21). It is an association which gives support to people with Down Syndrome and to their families, by developing projects that respond to the needs of our territory based on the most up-to-date and relevant scientific and evidence based information. At Avventuno we: > Support people with Down Syndrome with specific and concrete projects for learning, autonomy and inclusion. > Accompany families thanks to counselling, orientation and parent training, so that parents can actively participate in the development and inclusion of their children in an informed and efficient way. > Support professionals in their work, selecting, adapting and translating the available tools and research, organizing courses, instruction and education in the fields of early intervention, teaching, rehabilitation and health, collaborating with international competence centres for Down Syndrome and in coordination with local organization. > Create awareness to eliminate old prejudices about Down Syndrome and collaborating for a more inclusive society towards people with intellectual disabilities. Our projects and objectives can be seen on our website, our office and documentation centre in Carabietta is open to everyone interested.
Soccorso d'inverno Ticino alleviates the consequences of poverty in the Canton of Ticino by relieving the finances of the needy and solving emergency situations with targeted aid.
Swisstransplant is the Swiss National Foundation for Organ Donation and Transplantation. The foundation aims to promote, develop and coordinate the transplantation of organs, tissues and cells nationwide. As the national allocation service, Swisstransplant is responsible, on behalf of the Confederation, for the allocation of donated organs in accordance with the applicable laws. It organises and coordinates all organ allocation activities at national level and cooperates with foreign allocation organisations. The Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) has been involved in the organ donation campaign for years with information campaigns. Donating an organ can help a seriously ill person to survive and substantially improve their quality of life. An organ donor can save up to seven lives. Every year, around 60 patients die as a result of not being allocated a suitable organ. These are good reasons to decide to save other lives after your own death.
Tel 143- Telefono Amico is reachable 24 hours a day and offers help to anyone in need of support. Tel 143- Telefono Amico is an emergency number intended not only for those who find themselves in a moment of acute crisis, but also for women and men of all ages with more or less complex everyday problems. Telefono Amico Switzerland guarantees anonymity to all callers. The listening service is also a chat service.
Telefono Amico Ticino e Grigioni Italiano Casella postale 4118
6904 Lugano
Email [email protected] Web www.143.ch
Terre des hommes Suisse
The Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh) is Switzerland's largest children's aid organisation. It is present in more than 30 countries with emergency and development projects, defending children's rights and promoting equitable development, without any ethnic, religious, political, cultural or gender discrimination. Every year, Terre des hommes improves the living conditions of about 3 million children and their families. TDH Ticino was officially founded on 15 May 1985 by a dozen people, most of whom had been able to become adoptive parents thanks to Terre des hommes, which at the time was one of the few organisations offering this possibility south of the Alps.
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