Manchester United and Manchester City have put aside their rivalry to come together and donate £100,000 to help food banks in Greater Manchester 'meet increased demand from vulnerable people' as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
With the pandemic continuing to impact the lives of so many people around the world, clubs and individuals have recently announced plans to help support those in need.
Chelsea recently
Chelsea Football Club is joining the medical response to the coronavirus outbreak in London with the news the National Health Service (NHS) has accepted the Club’s offer to make the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge available for NHS staff... https://t.co/eENBcxRXXX
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 18, 2020
Elsewhere
United
We are #ACityUnited.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 21, 2020
MCFC Fans' Foodbank Support also commented on the donation, saying: “We're delighted that City and United have donated such a huge amount to Fans Supporting Foodbanks. This will be an enormous help for the Greater Manchester community at a time when people need it most.
"We'd like to thank everyone on both sides for demonstrating that hunger doesn't wear club colours, and for the show of community solidarity.”
As for the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), a spokesperson revealed: “MUST has been operating our Fans' Foodbank donation collection service on Manchester United home matchdays for some time but, with the impact of coronavirus, we have been forced to switch to appealing for online cash donations only.
Manchester City and Manchester United have donated a combined £100,000 to help food banks in Greater Manchester meet increased demand from vulnerable people as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic https://t.co/J4R6ao5nNy
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 21, 2020
"The news that Manchester United and Manchester City have agreed to make such a large contribution is fantastic news and will make a huge difference supporting vulnerable people in communities across Manchester at this time.”
The Trussell Trust’s senior operations manager Rachel Macklin explained how the donation will help enormously, before adding that the Trust are 'truly grateful'.
“As the coronavirus pandemic develops, more people than ever may need help from food banks across our network. This situation presents a huge additional pressure on already overstretched resources. We may start to see a reduction in food donations and volunteers may become unavailable if they are in the at-risk categories or are self-isolating.
"We know we won’t be able to do this alone, so we are truly grateful for the support Manchester United and Manchester City are showing local food banks. On behalf of food banks in our network in Manchester, we thank you so much.”
During a time of such great difficulty, Manchester United and Manchester City have put aside their rivalries and recognised that the situation is much, much larger than football.
Source : 90min