About us
Our Italian neighbours are our friends.
We owe so much to the Italians… not only coffee and wine but also their all-round attitude towards life, with its open cheerfulness, joyful zest for life and heartfelt camaraderie.
Italy was one of the countries in Europe that were hit very early and particularly hard by the corona pandemic. As early as February 2020 – within a few weeks of the outbreak of the pandemic – many people there were already in the midst of a serious emergency. This is how the initiative “To Italy with Love” came into being – a project close to the heart of Dr. Hansjörg Künzel and Elke Menzel.
Since January 2021 we are a united association. Thus, from now on we can finally issue a hands donation receipt to all of our rights donors.
For example, since the launch of our relief campaign in February 2020, we have been able to distribute over 850,000 masks to institutions and individuals.
In the meantime, the supply situation – also in rural regions – has normalized. In the event of a future bottleneck, we have ensured that we can provide support again immediately.
What has happened over the last few months…
Our spontaneous relief campaign for Italy started at the very beginning of the corona pandemic in February 2020, partly due to the lack of support from German and European politicians back then. Relations between Italy and Germany were very tense at that time and threatened to sever the otherwise close and friendly ties.
The Italian crisis areas, however, expressed a dire need for medical supplies such as respiratory masks, gloves and disinfectants. Although the worldwide market for these products was practically sold out, we managed to find suppliers for the first “smaller” quantities of masks and other medical equipment. We would like to take this opportunity to express our special thanks to these early sponsors!
Already in March 2020, we were able to travel to Italy for the first time and hand over the first donations in the form of a total of 6,000 masks to hospitals and civil defense in Perugia and Marsciano. At that time, Italy was in complete lockdown – it became a correspondingly adventurous journey with special permits and a lot of heart palpitations!
Since the lockdown was lifted, the logistics became much easier and we were able to personally hand over more than 180,000 masks and more than 100,000 latex gloves – which were traded like gold in the meantime – to various institutions (hospitals, doctors’ offices, civil defense, homes for the elderly and disabled as well as hospices, food banks, social institutions and a prison), selected companies (supermarkets, pharmacies) and needy individuals.
Many social institutions in Italy are not supported by the state. Since February 2022, we have therefore been supporting hospitals with components for medical equipment and protective suits, as well as retirement homes and other social institutions, for example with wheelchairs, bathtub lifts and other care aids for frail or disabled people.
Donation account:
TO ITALY WITH LOVE e.V.
IBAN: DE72 7015 0000 1006 3319 69
BIC: SSKMDEMMXXX