Flamengo participates in CUFA's national campaign to collect food for the Mothers of the Favela
The “Mothers of the Favela Football Club” initiative aims to collect, on average, 350 tons of food per state, from June 21st to June 27th.
By Flamengo, CUFA and Mothers of the Favela Football Club - inFlamengo is one of the soccer clubs joining Central Única das Favelas in the Mães da Favela Futebol Clube campaign. CUFA joined forces with Comunidade Door, the Frente Nacional Antirracista, and more than 200 other teams across the country—from all states and divisions—to launch the campaign. The initiative aims to collect food and distribute it to vulnerable families across Brazil through CUFA's Mães da Favela program.
"CUFA has been doing exceptional work since 2020, helping those most in need navigate this difficult pandemic period with dignity, with the health and economic crises affecting mothers in favelas even more severely. Flamengo is more than proud to be part of initiatives of this magnitude and to exert its influence to leverage donations for the campaign, which saves lives every day," said Ângela Machado, the club's statutory director of Social Responsibility.
The expectation is that an average of 350 tons of food will be collected per state, totaling 12 tons of donations, equivalent to R$100 million. The campaign will begin on June 21st. From this date, Flamengo fans—individuals or legal entities—will be able to bring their donations to Parque da Bola at Maracanã Stadium. The food will be stored until the weekend of June 25th, 26th, and 27th, when national drives will be held and CUFA leaders will collect the donations and deliver them to families registered with Mães da Favela.
"We're combining people's solidarity with a national passion: soccer. And it's incredible to be able to count on Flamengo to be part of this team against hunger, our greatest enemy right now. We hope to engage as many people as possible to donate and thus be able to further support the Mothers of the Favela. It's a time of unity," said Celso Athayde, founder of CUFA.
About CUFA
Having operated in Brazilian favelas for over 20 years, promoting activities in the areas of education, leisure, sports, culture, and citizenship, CUFA faced the challenge of the pandemic in 2020. Knowing that the crisis would hit favelas even harder, we focused all our efforts on raising donations to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.
Through the Mães da Favela program, the institution delivered physical and digital food baskets and SIM cards with free internet for six months. In 2020, CUFA raised R$187.596.960,00 million, serving 1.502.358 families in 5 favelas across Brazil. By May 2021, it had already reached R$76.923.360,00 million. The goal is to reach R$200 million for Mães da Favela in 2021.
Faced with the worsening pandemic and the country's economic situation, CUFA, together with the National Anti-Racist Front and Gerando Falcões, created Panela Cheia Salva (Full Panel Saves). This campaign aims to raise funds to purchase basic food baskets for vulnerable people.