Your thoughts please!

 There are a few of us banging our heads against a brick wall on this. It is obvious that the majority of members could not care less. I do not understand why not, especially as many are in Marche and can see the mountains that border the earthquake zone. It is beyond me.The quiz has floundered. Maybe we should "sell" helpful advice? Why help people for free with our hard earnt experiences? eg, where is a good place to by a strimmer? Bung a fiver in the pot and I'll reply. How do I get a Permesso? Bung a fiver in the pot....Where can I find a boiler repair man'? Yep. Fiver in the pot. Etc etc 

David , calma, we do what we can, because we feel a commintment to Italy our adopted country, which has been good to us so we give back what we can. Thats what we do.But you cannot force people to take part if they dont want to, they may have their reasons, we just get on with this in our way. Perhaps people have donated through just giving and feel this is enough?. Or perhaps some people live in a vacuum and only ever help their immediate family?. Who knows?. But we just need to concentrate on what we do, and do well.A

I really would prefer that this didn't turn into a debate as to the whys and why nots please.I was just hoping for some fresh ideas from the new faces!

 Where are these buttons  eh???  I feel homesick!!!  lol

There are two "old" but exciting nevertheless, ideas that have yet to be acted upon.  1) The photo competition where you had the backing of Admin and 2) the auctioning of holiday accommodation.  There you go.  regards, sempre_italia

Sure Moxie need to have positive ideas, as I have always said, not always possible to predict where your thread goes though.!.But would welcome the newbies coming up with some ideas that we or they could use,A

much of what sempre says is true...this is old news... have a certain sympathy with Davids views too although as a group the people off the forum from the Marche deserve a lot of thanks from all of us for helping to keep this idea going at all... and for their epic voyage to the rescue centre.... to me this seems to require a slight rethink... at the start immediate funds that arrived on the ground were /are needed.. hence the desire to set it up to go via the Italian red cross... of course they will always need money ...but government help is now at hand for the more mundane things and along with that our interest in that side of things... toys/baby food... washing stuff has diminished because we know those things are available and the people are also getting government sustenance as regards an allowance... and we all know a thousand euro here or there will not make a lot of differencei think we need a target to aim for and a limited direction for the money we raise... ie a suggestion because the marche group already has a contact there would be the animal rescue centre at L'Aquila... if animals can not be in the frame because they have a limited appeal...a sponsorship of a really hard off family... anyway you get the idea ...something small that we can actually see a return on...maybe hear a report on how things go...my favorite is the rescue place...its most probably already a registered type of charity... which means funds can be sent to it... the marche group have visited and know its a well run place... and they know it has desperate need for the few staff...if they are willing to say set a target of no more than euro 5000 for a specific role of help from the forum this would mean a donation level of just ten euro per member...i could have other ideas regarding people, places would just set us impossible targets to reach... you cannot build a shed here for less than 20,000 euro...  so am really trying to keep a perspective on what we can achieve...so say for the animal thing... a separate area for the really sick animals to recover... a piece of equipment... something that will last...ok maybe these are not the most urgent things required but its do able... it helps and it gives us targets... that to me is what is missing now...and it gives our collective help some sort of substantial recognition... one day one o us might visit the place and see what our efforts achieved...one final point... the province of Teramo is taking the lions share of help regarding the people of L'aquila... 15,000 were evacuated here into mainly seaside hotels... who were already booked for the summer period...about to start... and its one of the few areas where there have been no problems with them being served out of date food or just ignored... since the immediate problem there have now been i think around 3000 properties offered for these people to stay in... free.. i know this because some english people were offering places that they wanted to rent ...and the civile protection have not started doing the ones for rent yet...the L'Aquila people however are reluctant once again to move ... ie from hotels on the coat to inland places and are resisting in some cases leaving what has become their new communities... am not blaming them...just saying its not all a one sided story... they have also been assigned many of the winter resort accommodation ... but once again they are not that happy with that...  they are reluctant to go back to properties inside the province of L'Aquila as they feel safer here... this can be seen by the amounts of people still insisting on remaining in the tent villages despite their houses being declared safe.. again i can understand that... its just to say Tearomo has and is helping...even the other day at a restaurant if i came from that area ... a meal would have cost me half the normal price...50% discount...anyway my thoughts for what they are worth

Just because people aren't contributing something (whatever that may be) through this forum doesn't mean that they are'nt. Maybe they just don't want to shout about it. Giving is a personal thing and assumptions about who does and who doesn't based on the information here is not very fair.Jo

Thanks for such a long and thoughtful post John, I am now going to have to read it again, but it certainly gives everyone much food for thought and perhaps a focus for our activities as well.Angie

John the fear doesn't surprise me.  I have a friend near Sulmona.  Their hometown luckily didn't sustain any real damage.  Even internally her and her family's house was unaffected.  However she's absolutely petrified and she and her family are staying in their holiday house in the country in the meantime. Her daughter needed to be seen for a medical condition by a specialist in Rome.  When he/she learnt that the child was from Abruzzo, there was nothing to pay.   How kind. One thing I have been trying to find out is, are the aftershocks at an end???   regards, sempre_italia

 I have to agree with the views expressed by John and I am very sorry to see the disappointment that this issue is causing to Moxie and David, because you have both been working very hard in this project. Perhaps a small, specific project may get some response, but I think that those who were interested in participating in the fundraising have already done it and perhaps others have done it as well through different channels. There are several charities involved in helping the people from Abruzzo and donations have gone to them according to the particular preferences of the donor. Some people may have contributed to several different funds.Also, and although unfortunately the suffering for the people and animals affected by the earthquake continues and will continue, there are plenty of charities and organisation requesting help for many other worthy causes as well. We all tend to distribute our donations to cover as much ground as possible in a needy world, particularly at a time of crisis.We could add that perhaps the attitude of the Italian government, rejecting direct help to the victims by many countries who offered it, has not helped any fundraising effort. Overall, what has been achieved by a small group of people is remarkable and we should all be proud of this effort.

It's not to be forgotten though that Goverments have been asked to help by the Italian Governments rebuild properties, especially historic ones.  You did mention, Gala,  one specific building in L'Aquila by Spain.  I think the Fortress. Also the G-8 Summit at the beginning of July in L'Aquila will focus attention again on the earthquake.  Maybe this is just a lull therefore. There are concerts too in Italy this month and also I see in Australia.  The States and Canada have a lot of fund raising on the go. However one thing disappointed me earlier today.  There's an organisation for Italians in London.  They have 7000 members and I asked their Webmaster if perhaps they might also like to participate in the imminent raffle of Luciano Ligabue's autograph. I was sent away sadly with a flea in my ear.  What a lost opportunity.   I see Jinty too received an e-mail too saying that after all The Italian Embassy wasn't going to sponsor children after all.

Well... I was expecting a few new suggestions that's all.I will continue to be a part of the Marche Chapter fundraisers for as long as it takes, but will no longer attempt to maintain interest in the plight of the people of L'Aquila within this community. The funds from the forthcoming BBQ will be going to the old forum fund but after this I will propose that we take on a small project as suggested by adriatica (Thank you for your continued support John!) I could never be disappointed in what the old forums achieved - an absolutely amazing total.I will obviously support anybody elses efforts.At no time in my post did I point fingers or make any assumptions of any kind, I just wanted fresh ideas, sometimes new people can see more clearly the way forward.My thanks to those in this community who have attempted valiantly to keep the money trickling in.Moxie 

 Yes, the Spanish Fort is going to be rebuilt by the Spanish government and there are similar projects that will get the cooperation from other countries; however, the Italian government declined to accept the help offered by many nations to assist with rescue operations and the victims in general. This sent the wrong message overseas. I feel sorry for the victims and I can only hope that the G8 initiative will help them to get back their lives as soon as possible.

Well Mox' that just about wraps it up! When a request for ideas falls on deaf ears it is time to pull the plug. Anyhow It has been a struggle to get any interest going. The old momentum did not continue with this "community". Shame. No criticism on any particular person or people intended. I thought that paying for advice was a good idea. I would've happily offered a fiver to the fund for some money saving advice or help.Mini quiz going cheap....any offers?Il D'uno Thank you Adriatica for your excellent post, you are right, I am not a dictatorial type, just very dissapointed.

Too many new things on this new website to come to grips with David and of course new members.  Maybe give it a rest until that G-8 Summit in a month's time and relaunch then here in full vigour.  People will be better acquainted with this community website hopefully and new friendships will be emerging before too long. I reiterate..  You could do do something about the two "old" excellent options agreed upon by Ronald.  ie The photographic competition and the holiday accommodation auction.  Whilst here Jinty thank you for the correction, I didn't read your original post properly. Ciao for now, regards, sempre_italia

 Moxie and David, I feel very sad because you are obviously disappointed and you have done a lot for this cause; however, all fundraising campaigns reach a limit beyond which it is practically impossible to prosper. If you have a look at the fundraising effort, the earthquake took place on the 6th of April, the fund was open on the 9th and the majority of the donations, including the largest ones took place between the 9th and the 16th of April. After that, the number diminished and during the month of May, there were only 29 donations and the majority of them came from members who had already contributed to the fund.Large charitable organisations such as the Red Cross and Caritas are also currently receiving very little for the earthquake relief.On the other hand, there are over 40 spots all over the world needing urgent assistance. The most prominent one are the victims of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, where 3.4 million people are suffering enormously, 2.9 million have fled the area and half a million are living in basic tents. And I am not giving figures regarding Uganda or the malnutrition of children in Northern Kenya.For those who regularly contribute to charities, funds are going to move to help those people, particularly if they have already contributed to the Italian fund. And keep in mind that IM's fund was not the only one raising monies. Concerning people who do not help, they are not going to do it anyway.Perhaps, you will feel much better if you become directly involved with one of the organisations which are helping in the area. You are already doing it but I am sure that there is a great need not only for money but also for volunteers to help.Whatever you decide to do, I am sure that we will all feel admiration for your constant efforts.