EVERTON AND Republic of Ireland footballer Seamus Coleman has donated €20,000 to a fundraising campaign created to provide meals for frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Premier League star has lent his support to the Feed The Heroes campaign set up by Cian O'Flaherty and Tad McAlister to feed those working in hospitals, garda stations, fire deports and contact tracing centres across Ireland.
Initially set up with a fundraising target of just €250, the campaign has already raised over €310,000 from 7,500 different donors with a glut of restaurants and takeaways from across the country getting involved.
"In one week we have dropped over 4000 meals to frontline workers in hospitals, ambulance centres, fire depots, garda stations, contact tracing centres nationwide," the campaign said in an update posted online this past Sunday.
"There is a lot more to come next week.
"We have been utterly blown away by the response of the public, and the trust and responsiblity they are giving us to support the family, friends and loved ones they have on the front line. We have ramped up an operation and now have networks across the country.
"Our partners are dropping planned meals in coordination with frontline staff where it's needed. This has been greeted with an incredibly powerful sense of solidarity. You have had an impact.
"You have helped us to become an incredibly important part of the national response to COVID19. That was not what we thought we might do at the start but we're here now and we will step up and make sure your donations go where they can have an impact. We see you all want to let those on the front line know that we appreciate them, we see them and we stand (albeit socially distant) in solidarity with them all."
Anybody wishing to donate to the cause can do so here.
