The Associazione Bianca Garavaglia has a fundamental role in the creation and development of the Youth Project.

The Association represents a model of prolific collaboration between a public hospital (and a project born in its context) and private individuals. In fact, since 1987, the Bianca Garavaglia Association has supported the activities of the Pediatric Oncology Unit at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Milan, taking care of research projects and giving concrete support to assistance.
The history of Associazione Bianca Garavaglia is is a tale of how a story of huge pain can be transformed in a story of infinite love. Bianca Garavaglia was a beautiful blonde 5 years old girl who got ill with Ewing’s sarcoma. Unfortunately Bianca lost her battle to her disease. A huge loss, but for her mother Franca and her father Carlo this end became a beginning, a new hope: “with love you can keep on living” and fight for all the other sick children. Franca and Carlo decided to create an organization capable of offering immediate and direct support to the facilities currently operating within the world of pediatric oncology: fundraising to promote scientific studies and medical cures, basic research, more and more effective medicines, equipment, psychological support for patients and their families; and special project such as the Youth Project. “We are proud of our Youth Project – declares Franca Garavaglia –

“proud to be working with this wonderful group of experts and of young people, proud of being pioneers in creating a new model in which, together, we work to give access to adolescent patients to the most adequate treatments, therefore fighting to offer them greater probabilities of a cure. But we also commit to give them the possibility of studying, of doing sports and having fun together with friends and peer, telling their stories through artistic projects. This is the meaning of the Youth Project.”.

Without the Associazione Bianca Garavaglia the Youth Project would not exist.

The history of the Bianca Garavaglia Association is also briefly told in the scientific article: Ferrari A, Massimino M. From a story of pain, a tale of love (for patients and science). Tumori 2018 Vol. 104(6) NP1. DOI: 10.5301/tj.5000680