Avis Toscana’s appeal to regional parliamentarians: “Too much bureaucracy, we can’t do it like this”

“Parliament is making simplifications to the Third Sector Code, incorporating some of the requests brought by associations. However this is not enough. An office with few members and a few euros in the budget that runs only with volunteers cannot be equated with more structured offices with employees and budgets of hundreds of thousands of euros.. For this reason we want to launch a clear appeal to all Tuscan parliamentarians and all the political forces they represent, to promote an extra effort for true simplification. Less bureaucracy is needed, we need to further simplify the single register of the Third Sector (Runts). In any case, transparency is good, it is right that people should be accountable.”

To say this, making an appeal to the parliamentarians of our region, the president of Avis Toscana Claudia Firenze on the occasion of the 53rd regional assembly of the blood volunteers associationentitled “The choice that unites”, which was held at the Pecci Contemporary Art Center in Prato.

“The political inspiration that underpinned the reform of the Third Sector has been lost along the way, the bureaucratic approach of the ministry offices and the regions remained which forced statutory changes, which affected the internal democracy of the association – says the president of Avis Toscana -. The rules tell us what we must do and this is sacrosanct, but if they also want to tell us how we must be, we simply cannot accept this.”

“The Runts platform didn’t help, we asked for it loudly but we weren’t listened to: it is not clear, in fact, why there must be the digital signature of the president to operate on the single register when there is already the president’s Spid, i.e. the digital identity of the legal representative and the certified e-mail of the headquarters – underlines Claudia Firenze -. IT and digitalisation must be a help and not a burden. After three years, the difficulties have not yet been metabolized by the representatives of all our offices. It is right that there is a single register that is accountable, but the budget model is not perfectly tailored to our reality. Another example: if the offices accredited for the 5×1000 do not tick the 5×1000 box on the Runts and enter the IBAN, they will not receive the money”.

“Another topic touched on at the meeting is that of the world of work. From our research on the reasons why people stop donating more frequently, the difficulty in absenting themselves from work emerges. We renew our appeal to the Tuscany Region to promote a meeting with employers’ and trade union associations so as to enhance good practices and think of system solutions. We decided to give symbolic recognition to the Estra and Centria companies who promoted donation among their employees in Prato” adds Claudia Firenze.

“The first time that Centria and Estra started a process to introduce their employees to blood donation dates back to 2022, allowing it to be done during working hours – he declares Riccardo Matteini, CEO of Centria and Estra manager of the distribution area -. The donation is a free gesture of true solidarity and generosity. It is an experience that recalls the essence of civic and ethical value, which resides within all of us: it is the opportunity to share common feelings and values ​​among colleagues, which contribute to the sense of team, so precious and sought after within the organizations. The numerous participations of the staff have demonstrated that sometimes a small spark is enough to go from thinking about donating to actually doing it. A heartfelt thank you goes to Avis and in general to all the associations involved on this front, for what they do every day”.

The number of new Avis members is increasing

In this picture However, Avis’ donations in Tuscany are growing. In 2023, Avisine blood and plasma donations were in fact 105,855 (+0.1% compared to 2022). New members increased (+3%), with an average number of donations of 1.91 for each. Avis represents over 51% of total donations in Tuscany. The new members are mostly young: 53% are under 35. E among the very young (18-25) the majority are women. The increase in plasma donations was the main objective of the blood system for 2023 and Avis Toscana responded effectively by obtaining an increase of 6% in plasma collection and 15.5% in multicomponents. The first data for 2024 are also encouraging, with growth in the first quarter of 1.7%.