Holidays in the mountains become safer, thanks to new agreement between Leroy Merlin and CAI Turin. The French company, operating in large-scale distribution of home improvement, announces a partnership with the Turin section of the CAI (the Italian Alpine Club), to make the mountain refuges of Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta safer. The goal is to generate new economic and environmental value on the national territory.
In full compliance with the anti Covid-19 regulations, the do-it-yourself leader strengthens his commitment to local communities during the epidemiological emergency, to support the restart of mountain refuges. With the end of the lockdown and the reopening of the Regions, Italians can finally go back to travel, to explore their territory, starting from the mountains.
The refuges, as well as the other Italian tourist realities, are today called to make their structures safe, guaranteeing social distancing, the prohibition of gatherings, as well as the supply of personal protective equipment and the sanitization of the environments.
Important investments on which the future of our tourism is based and which Leroy Merlin wants to support by transforming solidarity actions into a fair-sustainable benefit for the entire community. Like houses, shelters are a garrison in defense of the territory and with this initiative we intend to support their restart.
The French company has extended its social business project reach "The ideal home" to 16 refuges in Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta managed by the CAI of Turin, historic first section of the voluntary association dedicated to mountaineering and the defense of the mountain environment.
By giving up its profit, the company allows CAI refuge managers to purchase products and materials useful for the necessary extraordinary maintenance activities in their stores, so as to comply with the measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
It is an experimental initiative in these two regions, but with the aim of extending it to the whole national territory and which sees some historical structures as protagonists, such as: the Quintino Sella refuge to the Rochers of Mont Blanc, the Mezzalama Refuge in the Alas Valley and the Geat Val Gravio Refuge in Val Susa.
After collaboration with ANCI , in support of families and people in difficulty with numerous donations to the realities engaged in the fight against Covid-19, this initiative was created to further enhance the national territory, in an extremely delicate moment for our country.
“In this period of health emergency, our homes have become our refuge – he declared Fabrizio Leopardi, Human Resources Director of Leroy Merlin Italy – Now that we are about to enter a new phase, we want to help shelters become our home. Without refuges, the mountain does not live”.
The CAI Turin, in turn, is satisfied with the agreement which provides for "the facilitated supply to its shelters of any material useful for the maintenance of the structures, especially in this moment of great suffering" - he added Gianluigi Montresor, President of CAI Turin .
