Rotaract Club

Il Rotaract Club Sassuolo was officially formed on 13^th November 1995 by a group of young people whose shared enthusiasm and desire to help others later became the basis for friendship. And it is with this same spirit of friendship and sharing that, over the years, RTC Sassuolo held fundraising parties and events, managing to donate, among other things, a defibrillator to the Municipal Police of Sassuolo, a paediatric first aid kit to the AVF voluntary association of Fiorano while also supporting research carried out by Professor Roberto Tonelli at Sant’Orsola hospital in Bologna, into a specific drug forchildhood cancer. It also teamed up with the Provincial Command of the Modena Carabinieri for the 181^st Celebration of the Corps and with the reality show “Campioni” by Ciccio Graziani. The club members also endeavoured to bring some joy and light relief to the “Casa Serena” home for the elderly in Sassuolo and to the children’s wards at Sassuolo Hospital, reading fairy tales to the young patients and bringing smiles to their faces. In January 2012 the Rotaract encountered some difficulties, suffering a setback when the club lost sight of the most important aspect – sharing.

On 3^rd April 2013 the Rotaract Club of Sassuolo started afresh with a new group of young people driven by the same spirit: the desire to come together and be of service to others through practical deeds.

In its “first” year of life the club worked to help its sponsor Rotary club with an important project, helping fund the cancer research by Doctor Roberto Tonelli, a university researcher into childhood cancers at Sant’Orsola hospital in Bologna.

In this second year, meanwhile, thanks also to the experience and maturity gained over the past twelve months, the club chose its own projects, acting independently. In this way the Rotaract gave itself the chance to define its service so that it could receive concrete, useful support, making it possible to establish achievable goals.

The first of these goals carries forward the objective set last year: that of helping sick children. The difference lies in a new approach compared to previous years. The first service consists of helping the association “Gli angeli di Gabriele”: this non-profit organisation works to ensure that children born with serious health problems have the chance to enjoy a proper education, with services tailored to their needs. The project set up in partnership with the association aims to fund two music therapy courses lasting six months for two children born blind and with serious physical impairments.

On 4^th October 2014 a party was held at the Teatro delle Passioni theatre in Modena to raise the funds needed: the event was a great success not only in consideration of the fantastic turn-out, but the project was also embraced by several local companies who decided to sponsor the event.

The 1600 euro raised was handed over to the leaders of the charity during a meeting held at the Salone dei Cocchieri in Sassuolo, one day before the club’s 19^th birthday.

The club continues to grow in terms of membership numbers, today it has 19 members, with an average age of 25.7 years: Federico Saetti (Vice President), Davide Malagoli, Federica Rosafio (Secretary), Carlo Pietro Barbieri (Past President), Silvia Casali, Federica Bellini, Simona Romani, Alice Tavani (Sgt. at arms), Silvia Toni, Giada Saraconi, Gianfranco Martucci, Michael Montanari, Marcello Guerzoni, Maria Chiara Roteglia, Luca Zanoli (President), Federico Menziani (Treasurer), Marco Manfredini, Andrea Romani, Giulia Rioli.

Presidents:

1995/1996 Angelo Canotti

1996/1997 Alessandra Viglino

1998/1999 Alessandro Nocetti

1999/2000 Alessandro Nocetti

2000/2001 Simone Ricci

2001/2002 Simone Ricci

2002/2003 Sonia Guidicelli

2003/2004 Patrizia De Luca

2004/2005 Andrea Campana

2005/2006 Alessandro Canovi

2006/2007 Giulia Tabanelli