Over 50 schools to be monitored on entering and leaving students and only a handful of vigilant grandparents remained active in the city. In Belluno the voluntary work carried out for years by those elderly (but not only) who dedicate part of their time to the safety of children and young people seems destined to end, given that from the fifteen active volunteers that the association counted to its born between the end of the 90s and the early 2000s, the decline in new subscriptions has been constant up to the few units today.
“As a local police we issue a contribution dedicated to those associations that want to participate in assistance and surveillance tasks in front of schools or during public events”, explains the commander of the brigade, Roberto Rossetti, “the association of Grandparents vigilant, present in the city for years, even if obviously their commitment is related to the now small number of staff. At the moment there are only two or three volunteers operating in the city; unfortunately, the voluntary activity in this sector is no longer thriving ».
Few but good, as underlined by the councilor for safety, Raffaele Addamiano: «They are volunteers who carry out an important service and even if they have decreased over the years, they have never lacked their support».
Above all, the generational turnover in a reality born during the Fistarol administration and which from the years of Mayor Prade onwards has seen its members decrease constantly: “Since the beginning of my mandate I have always tried to support and encourage this type of associations, in the hope that other citizens willing to make themselves available can come forward “, continues the commissioner,” just this week I received a vigilant grandparents representative to thank the volunteers for their valuable contribution to the community, so that anyone who gets busy without asking for anything in return, but giving the city time and energy can only receive my applause and my respect ».
The invitation, therefore, can only be to step forward, if we want to help these associations to do the good of all: “Volunteers, who are not just retirees, have different roles in the city organization”, concludes Addamiano, “There are those who take care of safety outside schools, but also those who help move chairs and tables to prepare the various events or are present during festivals and sporting events to ensure surveillance. An all-round commitment of great value ».