The multiple world, European and Italian Paralympic champion, as well as winner of five medals in Tokyo, Carlotta Gilli, swam this morning at the swimming pool of the Gianni Gambi swimming center in Ravenna in the company of some little ones with disabilities. The 23-year-old swimmer from Turin, who is preparing for the Paris Paralympics, is, in fact, ambassador of the “Champions every day” projectpromoted by Procter & Gamble, partner of International Olympic Committee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and which is part of the broader corporate citizenship program “P&G for Italy”. Launched in collaboration with partners such as Coop Alleanza 3.0 and ToSwim Inclusive Academy, this project aims toobjective of promoting and facilitating access to sport for children with disabilities, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, promoting inclusion and socialization. How? “Donating free swimming lessons for children with disabilities – replies Riccardo Calvi, communication director of Procter & Gamble – and today we are here in Ravenna for a lesson with Carlotta, who is our ambassador”. Suffering from Stargardt’s disease – a degenerative retinopathy which caused her to progressively lose her sight to the current 1/10 – Carlotta has not given up her great passion, swimming
The project has also arrived in our city thanks to the ToSwim Foundation which he identified in Swimfita city sports club specializing in synchronized swimming with 100 members and around ten instructors, the reality capable of spreading this initiative in the city inclusive entitled “Let’s talk“. “These courses are held in 1 to 1 mode because these children need maximum attention – explains Fabrizio Berlese, president of Swimfit – and this explains why we don’t do more than 4 or 5 lessons in a day. This project already has around fifteen children joining it. We will do courses until July, every Saturday then we will resume them in October. The target Not that’s it of the performance but that of aquatics, of autonomy and independence in the aquatic environment. Giving autonomy to these children, through the multilateral approach guaranteed by aquatic exercises, means giving them an edge. Furthermore, a project like this, thanks to the funding that comes from Procter&Gamble through ToSwim allows families to have their children attend these courses at half the price and for longer“.
On the ToSwim Foundation website you can support this SwimFit project, the first “inclusive point” in the region (the next one will be started in Copparo) and one of the few started in Italy: in Turin and Biella. Two are starting in Genoa and Milan. But the project also has branches across the border: To Swim has launched one in Valencia and one in Buenos Aires.
