{"id":14546,"date":"2026-04-28T12:03:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/?p=14546"},"modified":"2026-04-30T14:52:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:52:42","slug":"turning-a-semester-abroad-into-impact-2200-euro-raised-for-florences-single-mothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/2026\/04\/28\/turning-a-semester-abroad-into-impact-2200-euro-raised-for-florences-single-mothers\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning a Semester Abroad into Impact: \u20ac2,200 Raised for Florence\u2019s Single Mothers\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lila Boyle and Anna Palumbo of FS Caritas in front of donated artworks by Luloloko Ateliers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What started as a study abroad experience at Syracuse Florence quickly became something much bigger. Lila Boyle, a sociology student from Syracuse University, transformed her time in Italy into a grassroots fundraising effort\u2014raising over \u20ac2,200 to support single mothers across the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the I-Engage volunteering program, Lila worked with Fondazione Solidariet\u00e0 Caritas di Firenze (FS Caritas), where she saw firsthand the hurdles many women face in accessing stable housing, employment, and healthcare. Motivated to act, she launched a personal fundraiser that quickly gained momentum within the campus community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highlight was a vibrant charity raffle held alongside the Women Artists Wikipedia Marathon<\/a>, transforming an already inspiring event into a moment of collective generosity. With the support of long-standing local partners, the raffle featured unique prizes from Florentine artisans such as Scuola del Cuoio, Museo de\u2019 Medici, and Atelier Essere\u2014offering everything from handcrafted leather goods to local cultural experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Every dollar raised was donated to FS Caritas to support programs for women in vulnerable situations. During her visit to Casa San Michele, one of the organization\u2019s residential homes, Lila saw exactly how these funds translate into direct aid. “In Florence, it\u2019s incredibly difficult for single mothers to access the resources they need,” Lila noted, pointing to systemic barriers like the lack of job protection during maternity leave and the competitive nature of accessing childcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a city where these resources can feel out of reach, Lila saw FS Caritas as a vital connection. By providing food, job assistance, and even access to volunteer doctors, the organization’s homes give these women and their children what Lila described as a “real opportunity to get back on their feet.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\u2019s initiative is a powerful example of how local action creates real change. In just a few months, she brought together a community, amplified an urgent issue, and delivered tangible support where it\u2019s needed most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What started as a study abroad experience at Syracuse Florence quickly became something much bigger. Lila Boyle, a sociology student from Syracuse University, transformed her time in Italy into a grassroots fundraising effort\u2014raising over \u20ac2,200 to support single mothers across the city.\u00a0 Through the I-Engage volunteering program, Lila worked with Fondazione Solidariet\u00e0 Caritas di Firenze (FS Caritas),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":14555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14546"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14568,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14546\/revisions\/14568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}