Lots of satisfaction for the Cesena Adventist Church as it delivered the fruit of the fundraiser organized during the 21st Solidarity Celebration of ADRA, the Adventist humanitarian agency, on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 25.
This year's event also earmarked the proceeds for an important goal. Following the emergency of the war in Ukraine, the Cesena area has taken in and is hosting numerous refugees, especially mothers with school-age children. Thanks to the amount raised, which came from catering, sponsors, and mainly from the ‘8x1000’ Religious Tax earmarked for the Adventist Church, 52 Ukrainian children and youths received a voucher of 120 euros each, to be spent at a city stationery store that has established an agreement to purchase necessary school supplies.
The handover ceremony was attended by Dr. Carmelina Labruzzo, the Municipality of Cesena councillor of the Services for Persons and Families, who also sang along with the children present about brotherhood and friendship.
"I hope for you that it can be a beautiful and formative year because school is the place where you grow up and fulfill your wishes," wished Labruzzo, who also recalled the numbers of the presence of the little refugees: "241 minors in our municipality alone."
ADRA itself houses three families in apartments provided by the local Adventist church.
The ceremony was held in a relaxed and festive atmosphere, with the participation of entertainers. Also in attendance was the chaplain of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic community, Fr. Vasyl, who is intensely involved in spiritual care and ambulance dispatch in war-torn territories. In his speech, he emphasized how valuable this support is to Ukrainian mothers, who are busy caring for two or three children alone, as well as looking for work. They are in need of solidarity, "they need to feel the embrace of the whole citizenry," he explained.
The Cesena Adventist community took the opportunity to extend warm thanks to all those who visited the Solidarity Feast, ate meals and, thus, contributed to the success of the fundraiser. The hope is that we will be able to repeat new opportunities to pursue other initiatives in support of the city's social issues.
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