charity cheque presentation with two men at Italian film festival

Grazie mille to the organisers of the Newcastle Italian Film Festival who have supported MND NSW for six years running!  

The 2019 festival cheque presentation was held last week at Napoli Centrale Pizza in Newcastle and we received a whopping $8,500 for people living with Motor Neurone Disease and their families.

The event has been running for 10 years largely through the efforts of Nick Moretti, his wife Helen and a small group of volunteers. Nick founded the event with his close friend Dino Cesta, who sadly died of MND four years ago.

‘The festival raised over $10,000 with $2,500 being contributed to the Dino and Anna Cesta Memorial Scholarship which supports a tertiary student studying in Newcastle and the remainder being donated to help us support people with motor neurone disease,’ MND NSW CEO Graham Opie said. ‘It’s such an incredible festival and the community engagement is evident with packed out theatres and the long-term support from local sponsors present. E la pizza era fantastica!’

Thank you again to everyone involved! It means the world to us.

If you would like to find out more about organising a community fundraising event contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 02 8877 0999


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