OrDona con Gusto

OrDona con Gusto: when solidarity takes to the streets

In Ordona, a small town in the Tavoliere delle Puglie in the province of Foggia, summer brings an event that has successfully united two seemingly distant worlds: blood donation and a village festival. OrDona con Gusto is the initiative created by the local AVIS chapter, transforming Piazza Paolo VI into a large meeting space where the act of donating is paired with good food, children's games, and music.

The event's name plays on the town's identity: OrDona combines the name Ordona with the Italian invitation to donate ("dona"). The initiative was born to address a real problem, as local AVIS president Pietro Gervasio noted: summer is a critical time for donations, with blood supplies dropping just as hospitals continue to have a high need. Bringing the mobile blood unit into the square, among the people, is the method chosen by the organizers to bring citizens and tourists closer to the cause of donation.

A day for all ages

The event is structured to involve every age group throughout the day. In the late afternoon, blood collection begins with the mobile unit, set up in collaboration with the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo. In the evening, it is time for the little ones, with games, inflatables, and entertainment, while the day concludes with the most delicious and social moment: the Porchetta Festival, accompanied by the "Cervellone" team quiz and a DJ set that keeps the square lively until late at night.

Ordona, the Herdonia of the Daunia

Hosting an event like this has a special meaning for Ordona, a village built on the ruins of the ancient Roman Herdonia, an important center along the Via Traiana in the heart of the Daunia region. Today, the town, with just over two thousand inhabitants, thrives on agriculture and a strong sense of community: this very spirit of belonging is what makes an event possible where AVIS volunteering, the patronage of the Municipality of Ordona, and the support of the AVIS Provincial chapter of Foggia come together in a single celebration.

OrDona con Gusto perfectly represents a certain Puglian way of being together, where the festival is never an end in itself but becomes an opportunity to do good for the community. Those passing through Ordona on this summer evening will find porchetta and music, but above all, they will find a town gathering in the square around a shared value.