Enel Cuore, such a big heart

There are various different ways of standing by our fellow human beings. For over 15 years now, our way has been to look ahead to the future of the community we call our country. Since 2003, we have been supporting non-profit associations that help the most vulnerable members of that community. We have created hundreds of projects all over Italy, from North to South, leaving an instantly recognisable mark in each place: the mark of faith in people’s ability to turn their lives around, of solidarity with communities that risk exclusion, of commitment to the development of the third sector, and of redemption from the most disadvantaged of conditions.

Over the years, we have focused our work in four directions: combating social poverty amongst the elderly, supporting struggling families and mothers, improving the quality of education for children and youngsters, and fostering social, educational and professional inclusion for people with disabilities and new opportunities for future generations. In recent months, we have added to this list our support for frontline workers in the Covid-19 crisis, through initiatives ranging from donations – for a total of 23 million euro to the Italian Civil Protection agency and healthcare facilities – to raising funds to help vulnerable categories.

A reference point for the third sector

In partnership with other non-profit organisations, foundations and institutions, we have supported local communities by fostering shared development initiatives and backing the Group’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Many of the projects we have nurtured over the years have set a new standard in the third sector. In the early childhood area, our best-known achievement is Fare Scuola, which we launched in 2015 in partnership with the Fondazione Reggio Children – Centro Loris Malaguzzi, and which has thus far engaged more than 10,000 children and over 300 teachers. With Dynamo Camp we offer different types of recreational activities for children and young people with health problems during the holidays with their families, while the Never Alone project helps unaccompanied minors and young migrants to gain independence in both life and work. Terre Colte, which we promote with Fondazione con il Sud, does similar work by reclaiming uncultivated and abandoned land and offering new job opportunities to disadvantaged people across six different Italian regions (Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Apulia, Sicily and Sardinia).

One of our first projects involved providing assistance to the elderly in collaboration with the Community of Sant’Egidio: through Viva gli Anziani we are combatting social poverty in both large cities and small towns, thereby reducing the risk of loneliness and isolation in this particular demographic.

At the frontline during the health emergency 

Italy was one of the first countries to be affected by the Covid-19 crisis. We immediately leapt into action with a 23 million euros donation plan for frontline service providers battling the pandemic: from the Civil Protection agency to healthcare facilities, from non-profit organisations to local governments across the entire nation. The first part of the funds went to the most urgent recipients in Lombardy, such as the Mutual Assistance Fund set up by the Milan City Council, the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and the Humanitas Gavazzeni Hospital in Bergamo. There, we were at the side of Fondazione Humanitas per la Ricerca in supporting an innovative project for stabilised, symptom-free Covid-19 patients who cannot self-isolate at home. But our work also extended to many other Italian regions: from Liguria to Sicily, from Emilia-Romagna to Apulia, our donations were used to add new beds in intensive care units, build pre-triage facilities, and purchase medical equipment and PPE for medical and nursing staff.

Solidarity through crowdfunding

In May, we also launched an online fundraiser inviting all our colleagues across Italy to make a donation to help the most vulnerable people during the healthcare crisis: the elderly, nurses, people at risk of food poverty, those with disabilities and the homeless. This in-house crowdfunding initiative aims to provide practical help to the projects run by five third sector associations: Caritas and the Food Bank Foundation supporting people at risk of poverty, the Community of Sant’Egidio for the elderly, the Italian Federation for Overcoming Disabilities (Federazione Italiana Superamento Handicap, FISH) and the National Federation of Nursing Professions (Federazione Nazionale degli Ordini delle Professioni Infermieristiche, FNOPI). The fundraiser is open to all our employees and will continue until the end of May. The amount raised will then be matched by Enel Cuore.

Our commitment continues.

To look ahead, to our nation’s future, we also need to look back to ensure that no one gets left behind, and that we all feel part of the same story. Just as Enel Cuore has done since its foundation.

Dear Friends,

as my role as Chairman of Enel comes to an end, so does my involvement with this extraordinary non-profit organisation. 

After six wonderful years, I am leaving my role as Chairman of Enel Cuore, proud to have contributed to the creation of many exciting projects, which helped to make the concept of sustainability, on which Enel founds its entire strategy, even more valuable and concrete. 

Since its launch 15 years ago, Enel Cuore has brought to life over 800 projects. These are a testament to its unswerving support for the local areas and communities with which Enel works each day, placing particular emphasis on the most vulnerable categories in our society: the elderly, struggling families and mothers, children and adolescents.

Today, the association is at the frontline of the healthcare and social crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and is working hard to strengthen our healthcare infrastructures, associations and the nation’s solidarity network.

I am confident that by holding true to these values, Enel Cuore will continue to make its contribution to creating, together, the sustainable, equitable and inclusive society that we need more than ever today.

Patrizia Grieco (President of Enel Cuore from May 2014 to May 2020)