Red Cross has had to reinvent itself with the pandemic, both when it comes to serving the most vulnerable, with a strong commitment to the digitization of its workshops, such as fundraising, with the first online flag, as explained in Hoy por Hoy Alicante by its vice president in Alicante, Reme Alarcón.
The lack of employment is being the great challenge of this 2021 with the social derivatives of the second part of this health crisis that led to 26,000 people in Alicante being served last year only between March and May, 11,000 with food aid, and an average of 4,000 visits per month, in addition to the distribution of food at home provided by associations such as Restaurants, ARA.
This year they were already prepared to respond to this lack of food, and from March they will start with the third phase of their food aid program, but since this summer the other two big problems are being educational attention to children, and especially unemployment.
Not only the pandemic, but also the radical change in the profile of applicants for aid have contributed, explains Alarcón, to the “tremendous effort” in digitization even in employment courses, to provide these people with new skills and abilities.
In fact, recalls the vice president of the Red Cross, this reinvention has earned them the Innovation Award for career guidance.
In this third phase of distribution of the 2020 Food Aid program, in which 89 associations participate, up to 992,000 kilos of food will be distributed to more than 35,000 people starting in March, in a program co-financed by the EU 85% and the rest by the State. The next distribution will take place in May and the last of the year in September, with special attention to children and the elderly, as the most affected sectors.
In addition, the campaign has been launched “No single elderly person”, where contributions can be made by bizum Alicante until March 31 to the number 01406, to contribute to people alone. Almost all the sports clubs in the Region participate, Alarcón points out, and several actors are recording videos raising awareness among the population in this regard.
By the way, the vice president of the Red Cross has also referred to the arrival on the Alicante coast tonight of dos pateras, with 17 occupants, including two children, all of whom have tested negative in the PCR tests carried out.
At the top of the news you can hear the full interview to Reme Alarcón in Hoy por hoy Alicante.
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