Interview to Kate Fretti, Head of Organization & Italian Projects at Marco Simoncelli Foundation

Always carrying about charities, I interviewed Kate Fretti, Head of Organization & Italian Projects at Marco Simoncelli Foundation, who kindly talked to us about the Foundation. during a meeting in the Headquarter of the Foundation, in Riccione (Italy).

When the Foundation was created? Marco Simoncelli’s Foundation was created on 5th December 2011 on the idea of Carlo Pernat (manager of Marco Simoncelli), Paolo and Rosella Simoncelli (Marco’s parents), Paolo Beltramo (journalist) and our marketer Armando Capellini. They wished to remember Marco in a kind of way and also to help the world and Italy in his memory.
What is your role in the Foundation? I make the first meetings with those who propose to organize an event, a fundraiser, to finance a project. If the project is interesting and also achievable, we make a second meeting with Paulo and we decide how we will collaborate.
How is organized the foundation in terms of staff and volunteers? There are only volunteers at the Foundation and I am the only employee. I work all the week and meet people only on appointment. On Saturday, there is a volunteer at the Foundation.
What are the missions of the Foundation? We have converged on helping children with disabilities. When we realized the statute of the Foundation, we had to choose the band of people to help. Initially, Paulo wanted to raise funds and at the end of the year, to decide to who to give it. But we couldn’t proceed like this and we had to choose who to help. As in the past Marco went to visit disabled children in San Andrea in Besanigo (place in Coriano; Coriano is the city where Marco lived), we decided to help disabled children.
What has been done so far in terms of projects? Last year, we gave € 215’000 .00 to Francesca Rava Foundation-NPH Italy Onlus. With these funds, they have built a house in San Pedro de Macoris (Dominican Republic) near an orphanage. This house is intended to accommodate children with disabilities with appropriate equipment and specialized assistance. Then we gave an electron microscope with which costs € 15’000 .00 to the Foundation Semi di Pace Onlus which is a non-profit association of doctors working in ocular diseases in Kenya. Finally, we also gave € 10’000 .00 to an association of Rimini to help parents with autistic children. Since October, we are have been raising founds for the restructuration of an old hotel into a Daily Center for disabled children. This project costs € 1’400’000 .00. For this reason, we have already started to collect the funds. For the moment, we reached the million. This center once finished, will be managed by the Consortium « The Mosaic of Rimini », which already manages other cooperatives.
What are the future projects of the Foundation? For the moment, the project for the renovation of the hotel into the « Marco Simoncelli’s Daily Center » takes us a lot of time because it is an ambitious and very expensive project. For this reason, we need to prioritize this project and we are obliged to refuse other projects. We do not want to accept other ones and could not cope with them correctly.

How funds are collected? To answer to this question, I’ll give you an example: we organized a concert for the Foundation in Arezzo with well known singers in Italy. The entrance was free but people had to make a donation to the Foundation. On Sunday, we organized a motorcycle ride which costed € 15. During this weekend, we also had the pit where people could become a member of the Foundation with a minimum of € 30 and they received in exchange the member card, a tshirt or a cap. With the enrolments, the motorcycle ride and the concert we collected in 2 days € 21’156 .00 Our next event will be in September in Misano where we will organize a football match with Italian comics against designers. The proceeds from the tickets sales will be for the Foundation. We also collect funds thanks to persons who organize some events and donate us the funds raising.
You have talked about Dominican Republic, do you go to other countries to see how works are proceeding? Yes, we go abroad because we have to make sure that everything is going well with the work. I’ve been to San Pedro de Macoriz last year in July and it was beautiful and a moving experience. It is in this situation that you discover what it really means to be poor and that, we do not miss anything. The affection of the children and their gratitude make you understand that working in social is such a beautiful thing.
How long does it take to organize an event? We organize the events in collaboration with an event agency. At the Foundation, we have organized the « Buon Compleanno » in January, « Un gigante per Sic » in Livigno (a ski slalom) and a football game during the Misano race which will take place in September. Events are prepared months in advance by the events agency and we make sure that everything is going well one month before the event.
Could you explain us the difference between a project in Italy and same one abroad? In Italy it costs so much. The project for which we are currently working on would cost half less abroad. For this reason we did not have projects in Italy so far and associations don’t work much in Italy.
How someone can be a member of the Foundation Marco Simoncelli? By going on our website http://www.marcosimoncellifondazione.it/ you can enrol for it, make a donation at least € 30 and you receive the member card, a tshirt or a cap.
How many members are there? In December, we reached almost 5,000 members. The members are mainly in Italy but also abroad because we go to the MotoGP races and have a pit for enrollments. In Silverstone and in Assen are places where we have the most enrollments because people are much more sensitive to charity.
You told us that you are all volunteers at the foundation. What kind of mission has a volunteer? They collect enrollment during GP, events. They inform people about what we do. Volunteers who go to the races abroad are friends and the ones who go on events are people who wrote to us and offer their help.

How is a day at the Foundation?

Every day is different but I usually read the email and contact people to talk about their projects and also meet them. I go to events for the Foundation. As for the volunteers, they send gadgets to new members and take registrations.

What do you think Marco would say seeing about all what you are doing? I often ask to myself. But I do not have the answer. His parents say he would say: « Look what a mess you have done for me! »

Personal comment: Thank you Kate for being available, it was a pleasure to meet you. What you are all doing at the Foundation is amazing, there are big and ambitious projects but they have an important goal: helping people who really need. The Memory of Marco is kept by your great job!