The ceremony of awarding the scholarships to the orphans of military personnel of the A.M. was presided over by the Chief of SMA, Gen. S.A. Bernardis. At the event, presided over by the Chief of the Air Force General of Squadron Giuseppe Bernardis, several religious and military authorities, as well as some representatives of the benefactors of the Opera, participated besides the awardees accompanied by their families. At the national level, 40 awards were presented. At the ceremony held in Rome, 10 awardees residing in Lazio were present, while the remaining 30 will receive the award at the peripheral Commands.
Among the awardees are 16 graduates, 15 graduates from the High School of Media and 9 graduates from the Lower High School. General (r) Piergiorgio Crucioli, President of ONFA, recalled that during 2012 the Opera sponsored 284 beneficiaries through school grants and highlighted the intention to institutionalize the supplementary grant, this year intended for 119 families in difficulty, “to make assistance increasingly tailored to the real needs of families“. All of this, emphasized Gen. Crucioli, was possible “Thanks to the spirit of solidarity and closeness that the staff on duty demonstrated in fully embracing the profound meaning of the new system adopted for collecting voluntary contributions“. General Bernardis, in his introduction, thanked all those who intervened and ONFA for the work carried out, emphasizing that the Air Force, although a traditional Armed Force considered to be technological and linked to means, is first and foremost made up of men and as such represents a great family.“Being a great family – continued the Chief of Staff – means keeping all its members in mind”And, as in all families, “When needed, we try to collaborate and support each other; this is the great work that ONFA does.“Since 1930, the ONFA, with the support of the Air Force and through the voluntary contributions of staff, both in active and retired service, and of benefactors, assists, throughout the formative period, from kindergarten to university, the children of military personnel who have died for any reason.
