Friends of Progetto Arca prepare for Christmas with a new Solidarity Gifts website
Published by Incomedia in Success stories · Thursday 20 Oct 2022
Incomedia and Fondazione Progetto Arca onlus crossed paths a couple of years ago, and it was immediately clear to us that they were the friends we were waiting for, the ones who could help us help do something concrete to improve the conditions of those who, already marginalized by society or in a state of fragility, found themselves even more vulnerable due to the pandemic in progress.
With their help, we've achieved an important goal: the founding of the Mobile Kitchen of Rome which, since February 2022, has distributed more than 20,000 meals. However, Progetto Arca is constantly evolving and has decided to prepare for Christmas by offering companies a new way to support them, so we helped them create the site https://regalisolidaliprogettoarca.org.
We discuss this with Marta Etrelli, Corporate Fundraising Officer for Progetto Arca. She's one of the minds behind the new site and, most importantly, the hand that created it.
Good morning Marta. Can you explain, for those who don't yet know, what is Progetto Arca, and what does it do?
"For the past 28 years, Fondazione Progetto Arca onlus has been committed to providing concrete help to those in situations of severe poverty and social exclusion. This includes homeless people, families with economic and housing emergencies, people suffering from addiction and migrants fleeing wars and poverty.
Each day, Progetto Arca offers listening and assistance on the street, hot meals and food packages, the option of a safe sleeping shelter, medical care and hospitality in actual homes for thousands of poor people. In the past year, it has served more than 2 million people and 600 thousand meals, offered 340,000 nights of hospitality and 3,000 medical consultations 1providing help to more than 25,000 people."
And you, in particular, what do you do for the foundation?
"At Progetto Arca, I build relationships with companies.
Since the beginning of my university studies, the relationship between the profit and non-profit worlds has always really fascinated me because I think it's precisely from the meeting of these two worlds comes the greatest initiatives with the greatest positive impacts.
At Progetto Arca, I'm fortunate to meet many companies committed to the social sector and interested in building a lasting relationship with us. Having an opportunity to co-design and carry out initiatives that help so many vulnerable people is what makes me love my job more and more each day!"
Progetto Arca is a hotbed of ideas that are constantly percolating. One of the latest projects centers around Solidarity Gifts. Can you tell us about it?
"Christmas has always been considered a time of joy but, unfortunately, for people who are living on the street, the approach of the holidays means that the cold weather is going to arrive as well.
This winter, unfortunately, will also be marked by an increasing number of vulnerable families who, unable to cope with continuously increasing costs due to inflation and the cost of basic necessities and bills, will need to rely on us for help.
It's therefore a very challenging time for Progetto Arca, and for this reason, we need all the support we can get.
As such, we decided to offer a new way to support us by offering gadgets and Christmas items on https://regalisolidaliprogettoarca.org that companies can give to their employees, collaborators and suppliers.
Thanks to the contribution of the companies who have decided to choose products dedicated to Progetto Arca, we have a way to bring the joy of Christmas to the streets and homes of the people we help every day and who, even more so during the holidays, need our kindness and our attention."
For the new Solidarity Gifts website, you used WebSite X5. What convinced you to make this choice?
"First of all, Incomedia is a friend of ours that has been supporting us for a long time, and when we asked for help in creating a site for solidarity gifts, they immediately offered to help us by suggesting we build the site with WebSite X5.
The software ease of use is what impressed me the most!
Having to manage construction of the site, I was a bit scared at first since I'm not an expert in the subject, but thanks to Incomedia's support and the usability of WebSite X5, everything turned out to be very simple, and I was able to get a site up and running in just a few weeks!"
The Solidarity Gifts site is currently celebrating its one-month anniversary of being online. What were the reactions and preliminary results? And, more importantly, what does the future hold?
"First, all my colleagues were amazed at how I managed to put a well-constructed site online so quickly with software that I wasn't familiar with, and this serves to underscore WebSite X5's clarity and ease of use!
For companies, of course, being able to view the site is an advantage. It makes it easier to see to choose our products and, for new companies making contact with us for the first time, it allows them time to stop and learn more about our background and our work.
Surely, our wish is to continue to grow the site, both by making it known to more and more people and by gradually increasing product offerings, and not just for Christmas. It'll be a way for companies to support us and also receive something in return!"
We salute and thank Marta and all our friends at Fondazione Progetto Arca.
For Christmas, you can give your support too: https://regalisolidaliprogettoarca.org