Fast, local pharmacists are launching a national crowdfunding campaign to help young people in East Naples.

by Marco Milano

A solidarity evening at the Circolo Rari Nantes to raise funds to establish a physical outpost of legality, culture, and prevention within the Ester Village Center in Barr. "The Heart Beats in the South" to make a dream come true. This is the title of an important story at the heart of the nonprofit association FAST®️ (Farmacisti Attivi Sul Territorio) and the dream of its president Pietro Carraturo, a pharmacist, entrepreneur, and founder of the association. On the occasion of his thirty-fifth anniversary, he chose to transform the traditional private celebration into a public mission, uniting music, words, and solidarity to create a better future for the South. And at a gala hosted by Fabiola Cimminella in the halls of the Circolo Rari Nantes in Naples, Carraturo officially presented the first national crowdfunding campaign under the FAST®️ banner, with the goal of establishing a physical outpost of legality, culture, and prevention in the heart of Barra, within the Ester Village Center. "The crowdfunding we're launching tonight is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Fast and the Ester Center," Pietro Carraturo explained to guests, friends, and supporters of the cause, "which will make available a portion of the village's interior spaces for activities dedicated to young people experiencing social hardship." Carraturo especially thanked Vincenzo Santagada, Naples City Councilor for Health and Parks and President of the Naples Pharmacists' Association, "for their presence and support for the project," as well as Ugo Trama, Head of Drug and Device Policy at the Campania Region's Directorate-General for Health, and Pasquale Corvino, President of the Ester Center. The fundraising effort has already begun, with good results and the support of numerous national and local pharmaceutical companies (and others) who were also present at the event. The fundraising effort will run from summer until Christmas, and then, based on the funds raised, the project's related activities will be decided and organized. "We will give children identified by the Ester Center and their schools the opportunity to engage in after-school activities such as swimming, tennis, basketball, volleyball, and dance lessons, or by attending educational workshops," added the president of FAST®. "The goal is to give these children a point of reference other than the streets, with the opportunity to learn a profession. To this end, craft and vocational training workshops will be organized, engaging them in pastry making, beauticians, or hairdressers, for example. The new space will also host literature, writing, and theater courses, as well as preventive health projects and legality education programs." It should be noted that the Association of Local Pharmacists, in recent years, has carried out a series of activities typical of the third sector, especially during the COVID period, with the establishment of physical locations throughout the city for free swab tests and fundraisers for disadvantaged groups. "Being able to help young people from particularly disadvantaged social groups was one of my dreams when I founded the FAST®️ association," Carraturo concluded, "reaffirming a concept dear to him. And I'm so excited that we're about to achieve one of our main goals: restoring opportunity and hope to a region too often forgotten. Celebrating makes sense if it can also shine a light for others. The South needs heart, vision, and courage. And we want to be there."