Mediobanca supports Mission Bambini in guaranteeing education services for young children in vulnerable areas

Through this project, fifteen children in Bari, Catania, Milan, Naples and Rome will have free access to kindergartens or infant schools. The schools’ inside and outside areas will also be redeveloped with the involvement of Mediobanca Group volunteers

Fondazione Mission Bambini – which has been working for over twenty years to help children in need – and the Mediobanca Group are consolidating the partnership launched in 2020 with the aim of guaranteeing quality education services for children living in some of the most vulnerable areas. By supporting Mission Bambini’s “Shine” project, Mediobanca will provide free access for fifteen children to kindergartens or infant schools in the cities of Bari, Catania, Milan, Naples and Rome. The corporate volunteering activities provided by Mediobanca Group staff will also help develop the inside and outside areas of the educational facilities identified as part of the project.

The “Shine” project was set up in 2022, creating five social and educational facilities for early childhood (known as the Mission Bambini “Stelle”, or “Stars”), all located in areas where there is a serious lack of educational services. “Shine” has enabled some of the most vulnerable families – those unable to access state education or the pay for private education – to benefit from free or subsidized schooling for their children. The “Stars” also support families by helping them to acquire or develop their parenting skills, and by putting on extra-curricular activities that promote the children’s creativity, personal growth and relations with both their peers and parents; the educators are trained in aspects specific to childhood; and follow shared educational guidelines. The aim of these educational services, which are accessible and inclusive, is to help realize these children's right to education, play and personal development, thus increasing the likelihood of their being able to remove themselves from conditions of economic and social poverty when they become adults.

The renovation of the social and educational centres involved in the project, through the redevelopment of their inside and outside areas assisted by corporate volunteering activity, is geared towards creating spaces that are welcoming and filled with light, where children can play and take part in their educational activities and workshops. In particular, the Mediobanca Group volunteers will be responsible for painting, garden maintenance, and for creating kitchen and educational gardens.

“Our long years of experience have taught us that it is those children who live in the most vulnerable situations who have most need of high-quality educational experience, right from the earliest years of their lives. By providing this for them, we are able to effectively tackle educational poverty: the set of factors that prevents children from expressing their true potential and from realizing their expectations”, said Goffredo Modena, President of Mission Bambini. “I would like to thank Mediobanca for renewing our partnership and embracing the objectives that drive our efforts, having supported our work to create an inclusive, welcoming and environmentally school over the years.”

“Mediobanca’s commitment to social inclusion, for young people from disadvantaged areas in particular, has become a constant feature of our activities. This recommitment to our partnership with Mission Bambini is a further step in this direction”, said Giovanna Giusti del Giardino, Mediobanca Group Chief Sustainability Officer. “Through the ‘Shine’ project we are able to help guarantee the most vulnerable families access to educational services, promoting a parenting culture and fostering the personal development of the children. This has been made possible thanks to the growing involvement of our staff volunteers, who contribute actively to the success of these initiatives.” 

The corporate volunteering activities will take place throughout the course of the year in one or more of the social and educational centres included in the “Shine” project, based on the specific needs of the centres themselves.

Milan, 20 May 2024