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# DearBocconiansInAction ... by Gianluca Verdicchia

, by Gianluca Verdicchia - Studente di Giurisprudenza
As a temporary volunteer of the Italian Red Cross, Gianluca donates smiles by reading fairy tales to children and delivering medicine to the elderly. In these moments he says you are the most important person in the world for those in front of you. And the fear of being infected is gone

Hello everyone, I'm Gianluca, a law student at Bocconi. I have just finished reading the wonderful letter from my colleague, volunteer of the Italian Red Cross in Bergamo,and I would like to be able to second the solidarity appeal launched by her. For a couple of weeks I have been working with the CRI (Lipomo Committee, Como) as a temporary Volunteer and I would like to share the experience I am having with everyone.

First of all, anyone can be a temporary volunteer, you just need to send the request to the nearest committee. I must admit that when I was "summoned" I had a moment of fear, I knew that the step I was about to take was not in itself simple and that the difficulties that I would have to face would also be complicated. Immediately, I was assigned tasks, more or less demanding. In fact, some days I deal with reading fairy tales for younger children or Greek myths for those who are already a little older. At other times, however,I have been deployed in the field for the distribution of medicine and groceries to those who are stuck at home. Everything always takes place in maximum safety, with masks and gloves that CRI takes care to supply if you do not have them. These activities are not as risky and expensive as those faced by operators such as my colleague (to be clear: a temp volunteer does not get on an ambulance used for swab testing).

A few sentences back I underlined how initially there was fear, but I can assure you that everything disappears as soon as you find yourself in front of a person who has not left the house for weeks. A person who looks at you from a safe distance while you put away her shopping (or drugs), and then smiling at you, says: "You are the first person I have seen for weeks. If I could, I would embrace you and hold you as if you were my son". You could say that at that moment there is nothing that could somehow upset or harm you. At that moment you are the most important person in the world for those in front of you. If there were any doubts, they vanish.

I apologize for going on so long. I write these lines because I know that our community does not shrink from difficulties and because right now, if you want to, you can help. I hope that each of you is well and that you too can help those who need it. See you soon.

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