3 continents.

11 teams.

44 superheroes.

288 miles.

1 mission:

Help improve the early childhood development and education conditions in Serbia and raise awareness of the importance of the early years.  

Time zone discrepancy and changing weather conditions mean nothing when we are united around a noble cause. Novak Djokovic Foundation’s Silver Partnership participation at the Milano Marathon was a huge success. Once again, it showed us the strength of the community we are building.  

Of the 11 teams who ran, one was in Milano at the official event with other participants, while the other 10 did it in different locations around the world.  

From Pirot to Belgrade, six teams who ran in Serbia were the employees of companies who are our perennial partners: CBS Systems, Chips Way, Pertini, Sitel Srbija, Glovoapp Technology, and Telekom Srbija.    

Team World consisted of three Italian teams running in Lombardy, the Chicago Stars Team running in Illinois, plus the old faithful #NoleFam team: Abbi and Silvina ran in Argentina (ha! gotcha!), Padma ran in Florida, and Julie did it in France. And they all aced it!  

Thus, thanks to our advocates, we raised funds for our new program that we elegantly named Feel to Heal.   The program aims to help children aged 3 to 6 to master the recognition, naming, and emotion management skills necessary for their lifelong well-being. It also aims to help parents put their ego aside and awaken their own inner child so as to be able to help and understand their children better.

In light of the International day of sport for development and peace that we marked with an educational panel, we hope that this Milano Marathon story of hours inspires you to keep living a healthy lifestyle. Thank you for supporting our mission and for believing in their dreams.  

The post 11 Teams Ran and Supported Our Mission at Milano Marathon appeared first on Novak Djokovic Foundation.

3 continents.

11 teams.

44 superheroes.

288 miles.

1 mission:

Help improve the early childhood development and education conditions in Serbia and raise awareness of the importance of the early years.  

Time zone discrepancy and changing weather conditions mean nothing when we are united around a noble cause. Novak Djokovic Foundation’s Silver Partnership participation at the Milano Marathon was a huge success. Once again, it showed us the strength of the community we are building.  

Of the 11 teams who ran, one was in Milano at the official event with other participants, while the other 10 did it in different locations around the world.  

From Pirot to Belgrade, six teams who ran in Serbia were the employees of companies who are our perennial partners: CBS Systems, Chips Way, Pertini, Sitel Srbija, Glovoapp Technology, and Telekom Srbija.    

Team World consisted of three Italian teams running in Lombardy, the Chicago Stars Team running in Illinois, plus the old faithful #NoleFam team: Abbi and Silvina ran in Argentina (ha! gotcha!), Padma ran in Florida, and Julie did it in France. And they all aced it!  

Thus, thanks to our advocates, we raised funds for our new program that we elegantly named Feel to Heal.   The program aims to help children aged 3 to 6 to master the recognition, naming, and emotion management skills necessary for their lifelong well-being. It also aims to help parents put their ego aside and awaken their own inner child so as to be able to help and understand their children better.

In light of the International day of sport for development and peace that we marked with an educational panel, we hope that this Milano Marathon story of hours inspires you to keep living a healthy lifestyle. Thank you for supporting our mission and for believing in their dreams.  

The post 11 Teams Ran and Supported Our Mission at Milano Marathon appeared first on Novak Djokovic Foundation.

A great amount of research has shown that swimming and spending quality time in the water, can significantly benefit children with autism. It can help them improve their speech, coordination, social skills, self-esteem, and cognitive processing.

Nevertheless, no one could ever believe how much time in the water would help little Aleksandra.

Aleksandra Popov from Novi Sad, a kind, warm-hearted and brave girl, beat some of the autism symptoms she had been suffering from until the age of 7 with the help of water sports.   The dedication of her swim coach Mr. Igor Bežanović, helped Aleksandra turn from a child of 7 years old with special disabilities into a self-aware and eager-to-learn-teenager who now helps other children with special disabilities in Mr. Bežanović’s sports center Halivik.

Thanks to the support of The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation and the Sports Association Halivik, Aleksandra Popovic beat some of her autism symptoms.

In time, with the help of her parents, Aleksandra has also become a skillful water skier and she sometimes competes in triathlon competitions for children and teenagers. Swimming has positively impacted her other skills as well. She has drastically improved her communication skills and switched from being non-verbal to speaking English and French besides her mother tongue.

In her mind, she pushed all the autism challenges away and suddenly had a whole new dream – to water ski the English Channel when she is older.

But, the most astonishing effect of her tremendous turn, is her ability to teach other children to swim and feel safe in the water. Under Igor’s supervision, Aleksandra helps at the Sports Association Halivik – the only swimming club in the region that helps children with special abilities. Halivik manages swimming activities and water safety training, as well as general sports activities. It focuses on training non-swimmers aged 3 to 7 and holds a vision of educating all individuals, including those with disabilities which can be overcome with determination and with the proper teaching style. And the inspiration behind it was Aleksandra herself.

A great amount of research has shown that swimming and spending quality time in the water, can significantly benefit children with autism symptoms.

Amazed by Aleksandra’s story, our long-time project partners, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, decided to help her further develop her water safety skills. Since 2012, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has been on a mission to raise public awareness about water safety, teach children preventive measures and teach them to swim.

Thanks to their support, every year during our Friendship Games camp, many children from disadvantaged areas in Serbia get their first swimming and water safety lessons. The majority of them have never been to the pool before, so such an educative experience is very important for their further growth.

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation partnered with the Sports Association Halivik, and together they started the “Stay Safe” project, to train Aleksandra Popov to become a water safety educator. At the age of 14, Aleksandra has developed sufficient communication skills to envisage spreading her knowledge of water safety. Additionally, she will participate in the organization of local sports events intended on raising awareness of drowning prevention.

Thanks to the support of the Princesse Charlene Foundation, every year during our Friendship Games camp, many children from disadvantaged areas in Serbia get their first swimming and water safety lessons.

We can’t wait to share with you Aleksandra’s impressions when she finishes her training. The “žStay Safe” project will help her go beyond her boundaries to become a water safety peer educator and the first young swimmer in the country to encourage the trend of water safety learning. Hopefully, her story will open even more such possibilities and inspire others to give their best effort to overcome any obstacles that stop them from making their dreams come true.

The post Meet a Girl Who Beat the Autism Symptoms with the Help of Water Sports appeared first on Novak Djokovic Foundation.

A great amount of research has shown that swimming and spending quality time in the water, can significantly benefit children with autism. It can help them improve their speech, coordination, social skills, self-esteem, and cognitive processing.

Nevertheless, no one could ever believe how much time in the water would help little Aleksandra.

Aleksandra Popov from Novi Sad, a kind, warm-hearted and brave girl, beat some of the autism symptoms she had been suffering from until the age of 7 with the help of water sports.   The dedication of her swim coach Mr. Igor Bežanović, helped Aleksandra turn from a child of 7 years old with special disabilities into a self-aware and eager-to-learn-teenager who now helps other children with special disabilities in Mr. Bežanović’s sports center Halivik.

Thanks to the support of The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation and the Sports Association Halivik, Aleksandra Popovic beat some of her autism symptoms.

In time, with the help of her parents, Aleksandra has also become a skillful water skier and she sometimes competes in triathlon competitions for children and teenagers. Swimming has positively impacted her other skills as well. She has drastically improved her communication skills and switched from being non-verbal to speaking English and French besides her mother tongue.

In her mind, she pushed all the autism challenges away and suddenly had a whole new dream – to water ski the English Channel when she is older.

But, the most astonishing effect of her tremendous turn, is her ability to teach other children to swim and feel safe in the water. Under Igor’s supervision, Aleksandra helps at the Sports Association Halivik – the only swimming club in the region that helps children with special abilities. Halivik manages swimming activities and water safety training, as well as general sports activities. It focuses on training non-swimmers aged 3 to 7 and holds a vision of educating all individuals, including those with disabilities which can be overcome with determination and with the proper teaching style. And the inspiration behind it was Aleksandra herself.

A great amount of research has shown that swimming and spending quality time in the water, can significantly benefit children with autism symptoms.

Amazed by Aleksandra’s story, our long-time project partners, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, decided to help her further develop her water safety skills. Since 2012, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has been on a mission to raise public awareness about water safety, teach children preventive measures and teach them to swim.

Thanks to their support, every year during our Friendship Games camp, many children from disadvantaged areas in Serbia get their first swimming and water safety lessons. The majority of them have never been to the pool before, so such an educative experience is very important for their further growth.

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation partnered with the Sports Association Halivik, and together they started the “Stay Safe” project, to train Aleksandra Popov to become a water safety educator. At the age of 14, Aleksandra has developed sufficient communication skills to envisage spreading her knowledge of water safety. Additionally, she will participate in the organization of local sports events intended on raising awareness of drowning prevention.

Thanks to the support of the Princesse Charlene Foundation, every year during our Friendship Games camp, many children from disadvantaged areas in Serbia get their first swimming and water safety lessons.

We can’t wait to share with you Aleksandra’s impressions when she finishes her training. The “žStay Safe” project will help her go beyond her boundaries to become a water safety peer educator and the first young swimmer in the country to encourage the trend of water safety learning. Hopefully, her story will open even more such possibilities and inspire others to give their best effort to overcome any obstacles that stop them from making their dreams come true.

The post Meet a Girl Who Beat the Autism Symptoms with the Help of Water Sports appeared first on Novak Djokovic Foundation.

One of them is Mr. Wolfango Poggi from Florence, Italy, who decided to go on a cycling trip from Florence to Belgrade and raise donations for the early education of children from the village of Vajska. His beautiful initiative “žBiking with the Wolf“ made him the campaign’s top fundraiser – he has already raised over EUR 2,000 for Team Vajska thanks to more than 30 people who supported him. Mr. Wolfango’s desire to cross around 1200 km so all children in Vajska would get the opportunity to grow with their peers, inspired us all, thus we wanted to share with you his motivation behind this endeavor.

• For starters, tell us more about your life story, so everyone would know why our team likes to refer to you as our Italian son-in-law.

I’m happy to carry that title! I was born in Forli, in Emilia Romagna, and lived most of my life in Florence. However, thanks to my wife who is from Serbia, I was able to get to know and appreciate Serbia and its people. I was welcomed with open arms from the first day I came. The years I lived in Belgrade allowed me to establish a bond with this city and with Serbia.  Together with my wife, I manage an Italian language school for foreigners and every year we welcome hundreds of people who want to learn the Italian language and get to know our culture. Thanks to various life experiences, I traveled a lot and learned about different cultures. I felt at home and connected to all the places where I lived: in Florence, Granada, Milan, and Belgrade.

Our top fundraiser, Wolfango Poggi.

• Fundraising for Season of Giving is not your first cycling adventure like that. You have been combining your passion for cycling and humanitarian work for many years now.

My passion for cycling was born with triathlon, a discipline that I began to practice about 7 years ago when I finally decided to overcome my fear of deep water and learned to swim. I conquered this fear after my sister fell ill with Multiple Sclerosis. That’s when I realized that there is no excuse not to face your fears and difficulties when you are lucky enough to be healthy. The desire to challenge myself was born.

Therefore, in 2016 I participated in my first half of Ironman and decided to fundraise at the same time for the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association. From then on, I competed and raised money for various causes. However, my biggest challenge was participating in the full Ironman competition (3800m of swimming, 180km by bike, 42km per run). I was motivated to compete by my wish to help a dear friend who was seriously ill, so all the funds raised went to the Oncological Institute of Romagna for the donation of wigs for women who lose their hair due to chemotherapy. This journey of several months of preparation concluded with me crossing the finish line and raising EUR 1,635!

• What inspired you to join our Season of Giving campaign for the opening of new preschools in Serbia?

Children are our future; the world will be in their hands when they grow up. They do not decide where they will be born, so very often they find themselves in difficult places or situations that don’t allow them to grow in serenity. That’s why I think that opening preschools in Serbia is a fantastic initiative. Having a safe place to play, learn and socialize, with the same opportunities as everyone else, is essential for children’s growth.

Nobody should ever be left behind, especially children because they cannot choose the living conditions they will be born into.

Wolfango will be cycling 1200 km for the education of children from the village of Vajska.

• You decided to fundraise for Team Vajska. Why did the story of this small community appeal to you?

During my childhood, I spent many summers in the village called Portico di Romagna. This small town has about 700 inhabitants, everyone knows each other and lives in solidarity. The children grow happily in nature and afterward go to schools in larger cities or go to live in other regions or countries to work. Many success stories have been born from this village. As a small, multicultural village, Vajska reminded me of Portico di Romagna and the opportunity I had to grow up in peace and have a bright future.  So, I wanted to help provide the same for children in Vajska. Given that my family nurtures different cultures and I have friends from all over the world, I especially recognized the necessity of opening preschools in multicultural communities such as this one.

Exposure to other cultures, languages, traditions is fundamental in the growth process and for the mental openness of all people.

• Why do you think it is important to invest in the early education of children in small communities in Serbia?

Small communities in Serbia are distant from the big cities and with less opportunity to have quality education. The risk of “getting lost along the way” is very high in these situations and therefore investing in the early education of children that live in small communities can help them build a better future for themselves.  My older son Yannick went to preschool in Belgrade and it was a fantastic experience for him, but also for me because the preschool education is quite different in Serbia compared to Italy, it provides a lot more activities for kids. That’s why I think it is important that children from smaller communities in Serbia have the same experience.

“Biking With the Wolf” from Florence to Belgrade – the cycling tour will end on the 22nd of May.

• Tell us more about your cycling journey and what challenges are ahead of you.

I decided to make this cycling trip from Florence to Belgrade because for me it is like going from home to home and I have always wanted to do something useful for Serbia by helping those in need. The journey will be divided into 8 stages passing through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia where I will arrive in Belgrade on May 22nd after cycling about 1200km. That is not an ordinary day because it is my wife’s and Novak’s birthday ˜º.

During such a trip anything can happen, starting from the weather. So, I am training in all conditions. In addition to this, it will be very important to take care of nutrition and recovery after each stage since day after day, kilometer after kilometer the fatigue will be felt. I am in good hands because I’m being prepared by really professional trainers and nutritionists who already have experience in this kind of adventure. A huge thank you to Gaetano di Stefano, Luca Zaina, Andrea Zonza, professor Miljan Grbovic, Niccolo’ Villiger, Filippo Volpi,    Olgica Andric    and Firenze Triathlon. And also to generous companies Magneticdays, Watt nutritions and Pissei bike clothing that is designing Biking With the Wolf bike clothes that I will wear during the journey and a limited number that I will sell for donations.

Throughout my journey, I will meet new people and share with them the story about children in the village of Vajska. My goal is to raise EUR 5,000 and I’m sure we will get there by May 22nd.

Wolfango Poggi and his family supporting Team Vajska.

• Finally, what would be your message to our readers and followers – why should they join Season of Giving?

I believe there is nothing more beautiful than seeing the smile of the children who play carefree with each other and feel happy and safe in a place designed just for them.

Try to close your eyes and remember the emotions you had when you were a child and played with your little friends. Share those feelings with others and stories about children in the villages of Vajska and Ljubis and that’s enough to support Season of Giving.

We’re very close to opening two new preschools in Serbia. Together we can reach that goal. Choose your team and support Wolfango and our other fundraisers today! Or, if you were inspired by Wolfango’s initiative, you can start fundraising yourself. So put your training shoes on, dust off your superhero uniform, warm-up, and let’s do this!

The post Inspired by Our Top Fundraiser: Cycling 1200 km for Education of Children in Serbia appeared first on Novak Djokovic Foundation.