The Amici della Zizzi Association was founded in 1986 by Riccardo Ripoli. It was named after Riccardo's mother (Zizzi) who died that year and who was well known for the work she did to help other people. The association aims to carry on this work by helping children from families in difficulty. In more than 20 years more than 500 children have been cared for by Amici della Zizzi in their two centres, one in Livorno and the other in Oretano (province of Pisa).
The association is run by voluntary workers, and they are always in need of extra help: people to play with the children, help them with their school work, people to cook and clean, to cut the grass, carry out maintenance work.  Anyone interested should contact Amici della Zizzi by phone or email.