Bringing smiles where they're needed most

I’ve worked as a gate clerk at the terminal since April 2019. The role has changed a lot since then. In the early days, we were testing the platform, automation and different systems. Today, the role is much more established.

I work either a morning or afternoon shift and use systems including Camco, N4 and email, but our main objective is very simple: to serve each truck driver as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The gate is one of the first points a driver encounters at the terminal, so what happens here can have an impact on the rest of their journey. I’m also fortunate to work with colleagues I get along with very well, which makes a big difference.

It started when I was six, and my grandfather gave me a Spider-Man comic. That comic was really important to me for many years; I spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals as a child.

My first emergency operation was when I was seven, followed by a number of planned operations between the ages of 14 and 22 related to congenital conditions.

Once that chapter of my life as a patient was largely behind me, I wanted to give something back to the places that had helped me. I began volunteering in Savona in December 2017, visiting hospitals as Spider-Man. Since then, it has taken me across Italy and to other countries.

It’s difficult to describe. A child might be tired or sad, but when Spider-Man walks through the door, something changes.

We play, talk, joke and take photos. With younger children, you need to know your Spider-Man facts because they will test you! With teenagers, the conversations can be quite different. We might talk about sport, their dreams or what they want to do in the future.

It isn’t only about the children. Parents are going through an incredibly difficult experience, and sometimes having a moment when their child is simply laughing or playing can mean a great deal to them too.

Spider-Man has always felt different from other superheroes to me. Peter Parker is an ordinary person with his own problems, but when someone needs help, he steps up.

I think that’s one reason people identify with him. And he crosses generations and cultures. I’ve visited children in countries from Japan and Tanzania to Spain, France and Albania, and they recognise him immediately.

There isn’t just one. I meet around 2,000 children each year and, over the years, that has grown to roughly 20,000.

What stays with me is seeing what happens afterwards. Some of the children I first met years ago are now teenagers or young adults. Some have become friends, some help me deliver toys and others have become interested in volunteering themselves.

There are also children who sadly aren't here anymore. In some cases, I’ve remained in contact with their families, who have gone on to create associations or foundations to support other children and hospitals. Those relationships stay with you.

It has changed the way I approach life in general.

It’s given me perspective and made me better at dealing with problems and unexpected situations. At work, I try to bring that same attitude: respect people, help colleagues when they need it and support new colleagues as they find their feet.

I simply try to be the best version of myself I can be, whether I’m at the terminal or in a hospital.

The shift structure gives me some flexibility, which helps enormously. It means I can finish a shift and travel to places such as Genoa, Turin or Savona for visits.

The Vado terminal also provides employees with 16 hours a year for volunteering. In the past couple of years, colleagues who don’t use those hours have been able to donate them to colleagues who do.

I’ve benefited enormously from that generosity. My colleagues also help with shift changes and cover when the operation allows. I’m very grateful to them because their support has enabled me to reach many more children than I could on my own.

They’ve taught me things you won’t find in a school or university textbook. Above all, they’ve taught me to appreciate life and the small things within it.

Children, whether they are healthy or ill, fundamentally want the same things: to play, be curious and enjoy themselves. Being around them is a constant reminder of what really matters.

There are difficult days, of course, particularly when you lose someone you have come to know. But the families often tell me that even during an incredibly dark period, those visits gave them a happy memory. That means a lot to me.

I hope that as they grow older, they remember why Spider-Man was there: to bring them some happiness, hope, strength and courage at a difficult time.

And perhaps some of them will decide to give a little of their own time to someone else one day. I want to raise awareness of volunteering and of things such as blood, bone marrow and organ donation.

I’m not a superhero. I’m a very ordinary person. But I’ve learned that ordinary people can still do something meaningful for one another.