Parma Today, Giocamico, and Giacomazzi1968 together

"A small gesture, but one that grows year after year. A concrete way to bring a smile to those less fortunate than us and, at the same time, to strengthen the partnership with those who give smiles by offering part of their time and expertise to sick children."

Enrico Giacomazzi , head of bakery and pastry making at Giacomazzi1968, said this this morning – Saturday 20 January 2024 – when he met with the volunteers of the Giocamico Association, which has been working for 25 years at the “Pietro Barilla” Children's Hospital of the Parma University Hospital.

The occasion was the presentation of a check for 1,200 euros , the result of a project that saw the historic bakery and pastry company involved during the Christmas period.

For every artisanal panettone sold, Giacomazzi1968 has pledged to donate 1 euro to Giocamico.

To the generosity of many customers who chose one of the quintessential Christmas sweets for these holidays, the company has added a further contribution.

This morning's meeting at the Pietro Barilla Children's Hospital was also an opportunity to discuss, with Giocamico founder and president Corrado Vecchi, the many initiatives the association's 200 volunteers carry out across all departments for young patients.

A service away from the spotlight capable of "changing the days" of thousands of children and young people who are welcomed into the healthcare facility, from the emergency room to the oncology department, from neonatology to the operating rooms, from intensive care to all the pediatric departments.

" We are very happy to be able to make a small contribution, at a time when solidarity projects are making headlines for very different reasons, " explains Enrico Giacomazzi. "This motivates us even more to work alongside Giocamico and to always make the journey we've undertaken together transparent . Only in this way can we prevent people from becoming wary of initiatives that aim to support those who have the ability to transform the funds raised into useful actions for those in difficulty. We have chosen not to publicize the fundraiser in order to draw attention to our products, but to include a leaflet inside the panettone packaging to inform customers that even through their purchase they can help those experiencing a painful and sad moment in their lives."

This year we exceeded the goal we set ourselves, we hope this is a good omen for the future ."

In 2022, high-flow respirators were purchased with the contribution of Giacomazzi1968, while this year the president Giocamico announced that the sum collected at Christmas 2023 will be used to finance some new services started by the association.

"Ours is a very large project; we have several workshops that have finally returned to full capacity after the challenging period of the pandemic," recalls Giocamico's founder and president, Corrado Vecchi . "We are grateful for the final donation, which we will use for our various activities, but we are even more grateful for the partnership that began two years ago with Giacomazzi. If it weren't for the many people and entrepreneurs who support Giocamico , each in their own way, we wouldn't have been able to reach 25 years of activity for the association."