2011-09-13RAISED $ 303,880.00

PROJECT CLOSURE CONFERENCE ALE10FRIENDSFORJAPAN
Tuesday, the 13th of September 2011

Thanks to  ALE10FRIENDSFORJAPAN project 303.880,00 dollars have been raised


Solidarity can be worn. Just a little bit more than 5 months ago , in order to give a helping hand to the Japanese population hit by quake and its terrible consequences on the 11th of March, we presented our charity project Ale10friendsforjapan with this slogan. Today I can say that this solidarity has been worn by many, the positive message of this initiative was widely spread, according to the expectations of when we set it all up, just few days after the tragedy.

That was it: catching positiveness. In just few days our t-shirt, the symbol of Ale10friendsforjapan  was selling like hot cakes on the Internet, I came to realize it when I saw young people wearing it on the stadium and downtown in Turin. Seeing them, made it clear for me: we were on the right way. I'm not talking numbers but the idea: to find the way to turn the idea of a single person - thanks to his popularity and being famous as a public personage - into the initiative of many. From Gigi Buffon, Francesco Totti and Rino Gattuso ( to name only the first three who like many others colleagues showed the t-shirt during the match) to hypothetical Mr. Rossi, all were united by the same target.

Now the moment has come not only to count it all up, but to stop to think what we can really do all together when we decide to give our best. The example to follow is the one we've had right from the beginning: Japanese population, that with a lot of dignity and pride has been coming back to life day by day. To offer them my or better to say our support has been a real honour.

More than anything else I will remember the image of a lot of smiling faces on the pictures that were sent to our website and Facebook page by ''Friends for Japan'': people of different age, from all over the world, wearing our shirt. United by the same will to do something for the others, spontaneously and with a smile.

Today, on the day of Ale10friendsforJapan project conclusion, I have only one thing left  to do, to write the most important word : THANK YOU. Thanks to all who have decided to share our way for the sake of a good deed. Thanks to my colleagues football players, that right from the beginning gave me their support, having understood the meaning of this campaign. I'd like to thank Lega Calcio of serie A and B, that for the first time in the history of serie A and B sustained the initiative of a single player and turned it into the initiative of many. Thanks to the AIC, to the club, to Presidents, to referees. Thanks to all who put themselves on the line for Ale10friendsforJapan, to my staff that had faith in our case. And above all a lot of thanks to all who decided to buy this t-shirt: it was a stunning goal. Solidarity can be worn. We have shown it and it's just the beginning.

Alessandro Del Piero

COPYRIGHT © www.alessandrodelpiero.com 2013
The website content may be reproduced by newspapers, internet websites and agencies only under the obligation to acknowledge the source 'alessandrodelpiero.com' and it is expressly prohibited to relinquish the usage rights to any third parties.