Philanthropy by IWA
A message from Alessandra Bettiol, President of IWA “In this tough time, IWA showed its team spirit and strength, always looking for possible solutions in line with the rules in force.”
When I arrived in Hong Kong for the first time, a colleague of my husband, who has been living in this wonderful city for some years with his wife and children, suggested that I contact the Italian Association, since he found it very useful for his wife. She felt supported and involved in many activities, both entertaining and charitable. And so I did! Since then, I have been knowing people I immediately felt a connection with and part of a charity project. The Italian Women’s Association gathers women in Hong Kong, to share together recreational and cultural activities for charity purposes. Members register each year and pay an annual membership, which is entirely donated to charity. On top of that, they offer their free time and help to support initiatives.
Family hiking
The Association is formed by a committee which is annually elected by the members, including a President, VicePresidents, Treasurer, Secretary and Councillors. To be part of the committee, members are asked to bring their skills and experience to contribute to the final purpose of the Association. After my first year as secretary, I covered the role of president for the next two. Those two years turned out to be very challenging, due to the protests first and the pandemic afterwards. In this tough time, IWA showed its team spirit and strength, always looking for possible solutions in line with the rules in force. During these last two years, financial support has been provided to different charities such as refugees without a shelter, mothers and children struggling, women victims of domestic violence and much more. Money has been raised through regular monthly activities, like hiking and online classes, such as cooking and yoga. In addition, IWA was also able to celebrate some of its regular annual events, like International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th and its key event, “Il Mercatino di IWA”. In its last edition, the charity Market was held in November, instead of the first weekend of December, in a different location but with the same charitable spirit and philanthropic mood.
Part of the new committee, elected on the 23-5-2022
