Listening closely to the organisation revealed that the generational challenge isn't a single problem but two distinct ones: renewing governance and renewing grassroots volunteering, each with its own needs, timing and approach. Treating them as one and the same is the real risk: focusing only on governance without regenerating the volunteer base leaves nowhere to draw new leadership from.
Aido Regionale Lombardia promotes a culture of organ, tissue and cell donation, raising awareness and encouraging citizens to see it as a genuine act of solidarity, largely through outreach in schools and ongoing collaboration with municipalities and civil registry offices across the region.
The project
The project pursues a double aim: valuing the memory, relational skill and credibility that senior volunteers have built up over the years, while introducing new languages, digital tools and more flexible ways to take part that can genuinely speak to young people today. The path runs through light, practical phases: intergenerational matching moments and two-way micromentoring, supported by a shared "Playbook del Dono".
The goal is to increase awareness of donation associations' role locally through a narrative genuinely built together by senior and young volunteers, strengthening a shared sense of community while encouraging young people to take an active role rather than a passive one. Structured capacity-building paths prepare young leaders to become real ambassadors for donation, carrying the message forward in their own voice.
Who the project is for
The project is aimed at Aido Lombardia's senior volunteers, whose experience and credibility it works to pass on, and at young volunteers and emerging leaders, who are trained and supported to become active donation ambassadors within a regional network that reaches hundreds of schools, municipalities and health authorities across Lombardy.
Project name: Tandem generazionale. Potenziare lo scambio tra le diversegenerazioni di volontari per garantire un futuro alle Associazionidel Dono.
Proposing organisation: aido lombardia
Area of intervention: Inclusion & Social Development
Country: Italy