Staying connected to his roots

“I want to help victims of the Abruzzo earthquake.” This is Andrea Bargnani’s promise. The Raptors star who has lived in Toronto the past three years, was profoundly distressed – as were many Italians – to see TV images of the almost total destruction of L’Aquila and other towns.
As someone who is always aware of his obligations, in addition to the fact that he is an Italian who is connected to his roots, Bargnani has decided it is important to do more than just express words of condolences in commemoration of the 295 earthquake victims.
For this reason, over the coming weeks he will inaugurate the Fondazione Bargnani – to organize charity activities that will of course, also offer aid to areas affected by the terrible earthquake.
Bargnani, as did other Italians living in Toronto, also lost someone in Abruzzo.
“I’m very saddened for having lost a friend, a great fan of mine who always wrote to me on Internet sites,” he says. “I think that what happened was a real tragedy and now that my basketball season is over, I will definitely get involved with this, and I’ll try, through the foundation, to help those who are still suffering.”
Il Mago kept informed about what was happening in his country – and as more details came in and the death toll continued to rise, he made a decision to do something positive.
Now that the NBA season has ended, and aside from his summer commitments with the Italian national basketball team, Bargnani will have more time to dedicate himself to aid those who are truly in need.
“Unfortunately during these last three years I haven’t had the time to personally dedicate myself to activities that are important for an athlete such as myself,” he says. “Now that the season is over, I will take the opportunity over the next few months to launch a series of charity initiatives bearing my name. The foundation will be for this purpose. I still need to settle a few details but my objective is to begin right away as soon as everything is settled.”