Croce Viola is a volunteer ambulance association based in Milan, Italy and founded in 1949.

It provides much-needed emergency services to the entire city but is entirely reliant on the goodwill of 120 volunteers, who give up their time to provide this vital service, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

In total, more than 30,000 hours of emergency assistance have been volunteered per year, saving lives as well as supplying essential patient transportation services and non-emergency medical on-call service.

Croce Viola also delivers comprehensive first aid training programs to both the public and to companies, giving people the knowledge to intervene in crucial situations where it matters most—such as the Heimlich maneuver when a person's airways are obstructed. Not only that, but Croce Viola is also committed to helping at local and community events to provide first aid and safety procedures.

The association has recently put together an innovative campaign to promote the importance of first aid among primary school children. This plan will be extended to older children in the future, teaching them the essentials of first aid, from the very basics all the way to cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

All these important projects, as well each one of the association’s ambulances, are funded entirely by charitable donations.