Announcement of the President's Endorsement of an Assistance Program for the Earthquake in Southern Italy

The President has endorsed a program to match American communities with communities in southern Italy ravaged by the recent earthquake. The program, called ADOTTARE ( Italian for "adopt") has been created by the National Association of Counties (NACO) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM). In a letter to Westchester County Executive Alfred Del Bello, who will serve as chairman of ADOTTARE, President Carter congratulated him and Roy Orr and Richard Hatcher, presidents of NACO and USCM respectively, for their "commendable program" and "important humanitarian effort." The President added: "This voluntary effort will be highly complementary to the Federal Government's provision of $50 million in aid which Congressman Mario Biaggi sponsored in the Congress."

Serving on the committee for this program will be John Mulroy, county executive of Onondaga County, N.Y.; William Murphy, county executive of Rensselaer County, N.Y.; Charles Worthington, county executive of Atlantic County, N.J.; Mayor Kenneth Gibson of Newark, N.J.; Mayor Kevin White of Boston, Mass.; and Mayor Louis Tullio of Erie, Pa.

The program will try to create "sister" communities for places in southern Italy which need a wide range of assistance for helping individuals and communities repair the damage from the disaster. Mr. Del Bello and his staff will act as a clearinghouse for any community in the United States wishing to join the program and be matched with a community in Italy. Communities can call Mr. Del Bello's office at (914) 682-3126 for data and advice on how to become involved in this voluntary effort.