22 June 2020

Participants of the Playing is Caring initiative share their feedback on why the game has been so helpful during challenging times

2:00 min

Self-confidence, support, development, challenges… these are some of the benefits of taking part in “Playing is Caring”, an innovative digital project that helps young adults, especially those with special education needs.

The project, which UniCredit joined in April, supports young people aged 14-18 by promoting personal interactions and a responsible use of the internet . The program has been particularly helpful for children with special needs such as autism, ADHD, DOP or anxiety who are more vulnerable as they haven’t been able get the usual support from the different associations that help them.

Under the guidance of a game-master and a psychotherapist, Playing is Caring offers children the chance to get to know each other and interact in an online role-play game aimed at teaching them how to deal with relational and social distancing caused by lockdown. The game was also useful to enhance social interactions, team-working skills, and emotional resilience, all while having fun!

Have a look at what some parents say about the scheme:

“Sometimes it takes so little to fill a gap that seems just too big. Even though he had some difficulties, this experience helped him carry out an activity on his own, playing remotely with his friends. It would be amazing to repeat the experience to improve our child’s self-confidence even more. I wholeheartedly thank the great professionals who took good care of my son, and UniCredit for making all this possible.”
Domenico Romita, Matteo’s father, Bari

“Being unexpectedly isolated has been very hard and sacrificing fun and leisure has been even harder if you think that usually, for a teenager, staying at home means getting bored! For this reason, scheduled opportunities to have fun certainly helped Raul make the most of his time and use it to work on a project. We would be eager to do it again!”
Debora Marca, Raul’s mother, Milan

“For Carlotta, this initiative represented a true challenge, since she had never participated in such a game. Managing the fear of novelty and the feeling of not being ready enough has taught Carlotta how to face real challenges, just like the one posed by Covid-19. Special thanks go to the creators and promoters of this wonderful initiative. Carlotta and I hope that this will be repeated in the future, hopefully in a more relaxed context.”
Daniele Moretto, Carlotta’s father, Verona