Italian soccer team delivers care packages to its elderly fans during coronavirus lockdown
The current coronavirus pandemic has plunged much of the world into unprecedented and uncertain times.
But acts of kindness across the globe are providing much-needed light relief as people try to adapt to the new world they’re living in.
That is certainly the case in Rome, where one of the Italian capital’s football teams, AS Roma, has started delivering emergency care packages to its most vulnerable supporters.
Italy continues to be one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, registering more than 86,000 cases and another 969 deaths in the past 24 hours, which brings the death toll to more than 9,000.
The entire country has been placed on lockdown, leaving many elderly people isolated and vulnerable.
To combat this, Roma has started delivering its ‘Roma Cares’ packages to every season ticket holder over the age of 75.
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These boxes include pasta, biscuits, a bottle of beer, 10 surgical face masks, 10 pairs of protective gloves and five bottles of hand sanitizer, as well as that day’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport.
Roma also prepared a special surprise for its oldest season ticket holder, 97-year-old Eliseo Lorenzetti.
Lorenzetti was born in 1923, four years before Roma was founded, and was gifted a shirt signed by star striker Eden Dzeko.
“I thank you immensely for this visit, Roma,” Eliseo told AS Roma.
Last week, the club also announced it would be buying three ventilators and eight intensive care beds for a hospital in Rome after its players and coaches donated a day’s salary.
The club has already smashed its €500,000 ($558,000) fundraiser target, raising almost €536,000 ($599,000) towards tackling the Covid-19 crisis.
Their combined donations, which are on top of individual contributions according to the club, totaled more than €200,000 ($223,000).
Earlier this month, AS Roma also delivered 27,100 masks to hospitals and medical centers across Rome, as well as 120 bottles of hand sanitizer.
