Phoenix assisting in Covid-19 fight with groceries for poor communities

Craig Butler, founder of Phoenix All Stars Football Academy, says the academy's effort to assist residents of the communities of Cassava Piece, Grants Pen, Common and Stony Hill with 100 bags of grocery each day for the next two weeks is just a show of their social responsibility.

He said that they will target the elderly, single mothers and young children, and it's their way of playing an active role in the fight against the dreaded coronavirus pandemic.

Jamaica has 125 confirmed cases of the deadly virus. The total number of persons who have recovered and released from hospital is 21 while there have been five deaths.

"This is nothing new to us at Phoenix, it's part of our development and the whole responsibility it takes to become a corporate citizen. This is something they (Leon Bailey, Kyle Butler, Travis Blagrove, among others) started doing from they were young, so they are expected to give back," Butler said.

"This is just a continuation of social responsibility that we always try to follow, so that we can help Jamaica become a better place. This is an opportunity and a time for us to give back to Jamaica when it needs it the most, by giving grocery bags to members of these communities," he told STAR Sports.

"We will focus on people over 65 years old, single mothers and young children, as these are the ones suffering the most. This will also give the bread winner of each family a little help to feed their families," he added.

Hard already in the ghetto

In a press release, Butler said the ongoing challenges presented by the virus spurred them into action, as things were already tough for members of these communities even before the coronavirus outbreak.

"It is hard already in the ghetto to survive and to find meals daily, and it will be even more so now with the curfew, social distancing and the inability to work caused by the effect of the disease and the necessary strategy to stop its spread.

"Phoenix will distribute 100 bags of grocery each day for the next two weeks and in essence ensure that 100 families will have breakfast and dinner. The Phoenix team bus will drive each day and deliver the gift bags to the people by parking in each community. We hope in this small way we can help," the release read.

But despite the progress made by some countries like China and Germany, Butler thinks the world is a far way off from containing and controlling the virus, and he called on Jamaicans to start taking it as a serious threat.

"We are going to be in this for a little while, at least another two months. Germany and China were very efficient in managing the process. The German League could start in about two months as players are just getting back to training," he said.

He noted that anyone who wishes to can follow delivery of the groceries each day live on @Empireentja on Instagram.