ROME – This year too, the Telethon “Io per Lei” campaign dedicated to mothers returns, which has always been at the center of the mission of the Foundation born thirty years ago from the appeal of a group of mothers from the Italian Union for the Fight against Muscular Dystrophy (UILDM).
Organized close to Mother’s Day, the “Io per lei” campaign is an invitation to support the great chain of solidarity towards the mothers of children with a rare genetic disease by choosing, with the Biscuit Hearts which celebrate 10 years this year, to make a gesture of love to support the scientific research of the Telethon Foundation.
Even in Lazio it will be possible to find biscuit hearts in 343 collection points, while throughout Italy there will be over 2,000 collection points where 6000 volunteers from the Telethon Foundation and UILDM – Italian Union to Fight Muscular Dystrophy, from AVIS – Italian Blood Volunteers, Anffas – National Association of Families of People with Intellectual and/or Relational Disabilities, UNPLI – National Union of Pro Loco of Italy, Catholic Action, and at the participating SI.NA.GI newsstands, will distribute the Biscuit Hearts in exchange for a minimum donation of 15 euros.
“The determination and dedication with which mothers of children with rare genetic diseases take care of their children and the daily commitment to making their lives less difficult are a source of inspiration for us and the incentive to always work for find a cure for these pathologies – comments Francesca Pasinelli, Managing Director of the Telethon Foundation. – Research is the means chosen by the Telethon Foundation to find effective solutions for these children, so that none of them are left behind, and to give concrete hope to their mothers.”
The appointment with the Telethon Foundation’s awareness week on the Rai networks is also renewed from 29 April to 5 May 2024, with the support of Rai for Sustainability-ESG, to continue to support the work of researchers and provide concrete answers in terms of treatments and therapies to those who face the difficulties of a rare genetic disease.
The “Io per lei” campaign has the support of BNL BNP Paribas, a historic partner alongside the Telethon Foundation with over 336 million euros raised in 33 years in support of scientific research: this year too it will be possible for BNL customers to donate through the 1,397 ATMs and 585 agencies throughout the territory, and on the BNL APP in a simple and secure way.
This year too, DHL is the official carrier of the street campaign.
The Biscuit Hearts, produced by the historic Genoese pastry shop Grondona founded in the early nineteenth century, are representative of the Telethon Foundation and are distributed by volunteers, in numerous Italian squares, during the Foundation’s spring square campaign. They are heart-shaped biscuits, ideal for any moment of the day, from breakfast to after dinner and are available in three tasty variations: shortcrust pastry with butter, cocoa with chocolate chips, and Sicilian oranges with chocolate chips. This last flavor is a special edition created to mark the tenth anniversary of the spring Telethon solidarity product.
For this edition of the “Io per Lei” campaign, the tin boxes were produced in three different metallic colors that identify the flavor of the biscuit: golden for the special edition flavored with Sicilian oranges and chocolate chips, blue for the biscuits cocoa with chocolate chips and rose for butter biscuits.
The boxes have new graphics, composed of a mandala in the center, symbol of the wheel of life which, precisely because of its circular shape, represents the square, the meeting place par excellence of humanity. It is a new way of telling the heart, like a journey that starts right from the square: it starts from the Foundation as a concrete symbol of the goodness of the product and of the donors who demonstrate it by purchasing it, and is transformed into a source of hope that Telethon puts back into circulation with the scientific research. At the center of the entire journey, there is the heart from which colours, joy and hope radiate.
In each tin box, inserted in a coordinated shopper, there are 3 separately packaged trays which contain 6 biscuits for a total of 18 biscuits and a total weight of 300g. Each tray is individually packaged to maintain the scent and fragrance of freshly baked biscuits. Inside the pack there is a postcard, with a colorful bookmark to detach and keep, which tells a story: by framing the QR code, it will be possible to discover a special surprise.
On www.telethon.it you can find the nearest collection point or request biscuit hearts in the solidarity shop section.
To actively participate in the campaign and help distribute the Biscuit Hearts, just contact the number 06.44015758 or write to [email protected]
Telethon ETS Foundation
Telethon ETS Foundation is one of the main Italian biomedical charities, founded in 1990 on the initiative of a group of patients suffering from muscular dystrophy. Its mission is to cure rare genetic diseases thanks to excellent scientific research, selected according to the best practices shared internationally. Through a unique method in the Italian panorama, it follows the entire “research chain” dealing with fundraising, selection and financing of projects and the research activity itself carried out in the Foundation’s centers and laboratories. Telethon also develops collaborations with public health institutions and pharmaceutical industries to translate research results into therapies accessible to patients. Since its foundation it has invested over 660 million euros in research, has financed 2,960 projects with 1,720 researchers involved and 630 diseases studied. To date, thanks to the Telethon Foundation, the first stem cell gene therapy in the world has been made available, created thanks to collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, intended for the treatment of ADA-SCID, a serious immunodeficiency that compromises the body’s defenses since birth. In 2023, Telethon Foundation became responsible for the production and distribution of the drug in the European Union. Another gene therapy resulting from Telethon research made available is that for a serious neurodegenerative disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy. This therapeutic approach is in advanced clinical trials for another immunodeficiency, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, for. beta thalassemia and some metabolic diseases of childhood, mucopolysaccharidosis type 6 and type 1. Furthermore, within the Telethon institutes, targeted therapeutic strategies are also at an advanced stage of study or development for other genetic diseases, such as some hereditary vision defects. At the same time, the study of the basic mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches for pathologies still unanswered continues in all the laboratories financed by Telethon.
