The new headquarters of Viva Vittoria has been inaugurated in via Alcarotti 1 in Novara, the space made available free of charge until the end of the year by the Cooperativa Liberazione e Speranza, owner of the property, to collect all the knitted squares, assemble and sew the blankets , prepared the event on November 24th to say NO to violence against women, which aims to cover Piazza Martiri with a huge artistic installation made up of 1,600 blankets. The proceeds from the fundraising will be donated to Aied Novara, Liberazione e Speranza, Anti-Violence Center in the North Novara area for projects to help women victims of abuse.
«The inauguration – said Raffaella Pasquale representing the associations organizing the initiative in the city (Attivalamente e il corpo, Agorà Donatello, Il Cerchio Magico, CreAttivi) – is the concrete demonstration of how well Viva Vittoria was received by the city and from the province of Novara in these first months of life. This excites us, makes us happy and encourages us to continue with ever greater determination. There are already more than 30 groups and laboratories working on the project, scattered throughout the province and also in other parts of Italy: from parish senior centers and RSAs to a bookshop, from groups in libraries and meeting centers to of voluntary associations, from professional schools to the group of retired Novara teachers. And then again, there are groups in Sicily, in Genoa, in Crema, in Vigevano. New square collection points, new centers and shops that sell wool and offer discounts on purchases have been added. In addition to the Municipality of Novara, the Province also granted us patronage. In this period we have already gathered the support of many people, public and private bodies, associations, companies, schools, volunteers. We are weaving together a great network of solidarity, but we need everyone’s contribution to achieve the goal.”
The objective is to collect 6,400 knitted squares made with crochet or knitting measuring 50 cm by 50 cm, which will then be sewn four by four with the red Viva Vittoria thread by the volunteers, which will make up, in total, the 1,600 blankets needed for the installation.
On the morning of April 14th, 1,703 square meters had been delivered. To this number must then be added the artefacts brought in the afternoon, which bring the total closer to almost 2 thousand. In recent weeks, the volunteers have already assembled 984 squares, ready to be sewn and thus become 246 blankets.
«Now – added Raffaella Pasquale – we need donations of balls of wool to be made available to the various senior centers, to those who are continuing to produce without stopping, to those who would like to participate but cannot purchase it. Funds are needed to be able to buy it for this purpose, therefore also monetary donations. For this reason, an account where you can donate with this specific reason will soon be activated. In the coming months, many volunteers will be needed to organize and carry out the event.”
The inauguration was also attended by Cristina Begni, president of Viva Vittoria OdV and creator of the solidarity project in 2015, which involved more than 30 cities in Italy and around the world and which with these events has so far raised and donated more than 1 million and 200 thousand euro to local associations that deal with women victims of violence. Together with her, representatives of the institutions, bodies and associations in the Novara area that support the initiative attended the inauguration.
The Spazio Viva Vittoria Novara in via Alcarotti 1 will remain open to the public on Mondays and Thursdays from 10am to 1pm, on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 6pm. This place will become the reference point for all the next phases of the project and activities. For information and updates you can consult the Viva Vittoria Novara Facebook page and Instagram account. The email address [email protected] is also available for information
Tags: squares shirts violence women collected
