Members of staff work in a kitchen to aid those in need

The latest edition of Sporting Volunteer Day brought together more than three dozen Sporting Clube de Portugal employees in a kitchen to prepare meals for Refood.

Traditionally held on June 19th (19/06, in honour of the club's foundation), the day is used for charity initiatives and to make a difference in the community, organised by the Sporting CP Foundation and the club's Human Resources department.

In previous years, volunteers have collected food, renovated a guest house and cleaned an area of the Tagus Estuary. This time, they put on aprons and cooked meals to help those without food in Lisbon.

Sporting CP has been a partner of Refood do Lumiar for several years, delivering leftover food on match days so that the institution can deliver it to those most in need.

Aware that the meals that Refood have access to are at times not as healthy and balanced as required, Sporting CP nutritionist, Inês Maldonado, prepared a menu consisting of soup and a vegetarian main course with a wide variety of vegetables, legumes and dried fruits.

Sporting CP bought the vegetables at the SEMEAR - BIPP Association for Disability Inclusion -, which received the club's first volunteer action. They chose the Gustave Eiffel Professional School as a partner and it was in the kitchen of this school that the action took place with the help of Ana Matias, coordinator of the cooking and pastry course, and several students in their first year of the course.

“We know that since 2020, with the pandemic, and now with the rising cost of living, more and more people are going to Refood to eat. Therefore, this year we wanted to leave our mark here. We listened to the institution's needs, spoke to our nutrition department and got to work," said Inês Sêco, executive director of the Sporting Foundation, who was pleased with the commitment of all participants in this fourth edition of Sporting Volunteer Day.

“Everybody rolled up their sleeves, got their hands on knives and did a little bit of everything. No one held back on anything. It was very productive."

Ana Matias added that “It went really well. We managed to organise ourselves, everyone collaborated and the final product was very good. In addition to the charity work that was done here, our students were also very motivated by the presence of Sporting CP volunteers because, in addition to being a practical class, it was a different morning with different people,” said the teacher.

Hugo Ferreira, from the Administration Advisory Office, was one of the Sporting CP employees who participated in the initiative.

 “It is, without a doubt, an experience to be repeated. I usually do volunteer work abroad and if the club have more of these actions, I will be here to help. I think it's very important to dedicate ourselves to these causes and help others."

At the end of the action, Refood do Lumiar collected the meals that will feed about 150 people, and that will be delivered on the streets of the area of Lisbon next to the Estádio José Alvalade .

“We always need help, not least because there has been a considerable increase in people contacting us to provide them with food support. Right now, unfortunately, we already have people on the waiting list. For this reason, and at a time when we don't have much food to distribute, this action helps us a lot,” said Francisco Amaral, manager of Refood do Lumiar.

"Sporting CP are a a great partner for us and for Alvalade and we really appreciate this contribution."