Last week, the foundation donated 44,000 masks to doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals at the two largest hospitals in Genoa Italy, the foundation’s headquarters. And we didn’t want to stop there—we also donated roughly 60,000 meals of Almo Nature food to hospital workers for their cats and dogs.
We wanted to send a strong message: “We thank you!” In these times, community unity and helping others goes a long way, and we are honored to do our part.
Original article
Newspaper: La Repubblica (Italy)
Date of Publication: Wednesday, April 22, 2020
(English translation below)
(English translation)
Fondazione Capellino Donates Masks and Pet Food to Healthcare Professionals
Almo Nature will donate about 60,000 meals, the equivalent of a month’s supply of cat and dog food, to the staff of the San Martino and Galliera hospitals in Genoa. The donation to the two biggest Genoese hospitals also includes 44,000 masks, which will be delivered in the next few days. It was initiated by Fondazione Capellino, which owns the pet food brand, aimed to be a message of solidarity to health workers during this difficult emergency situation.
“Our company has remained open during this lockdown period,” explains founder, Pier Giovanni Capellino, “and for this reason, we thought it was our duty to acknowledge doctors, nurses and all the hospital staff. For us, this is a concrete way to say, ‘thank you,’ to those who work in hospitals and who are truly on the frontlines right now—an opportunity to tell them that we appreciate their efforts.”
The foundation, therefore, decided to meet the needs of hospital staff by purchasing personal protective equipment: 44,000 masks, with half being delivered to San Martino Hospital staff and the other half to Galliera Hospital.
“It took more than a month to acquire the masks,” continues Capellino, “but we finally succeeded, and we are satisfied. The path, however, was quite complex because it is a world we didn't know. We first looked for masks made in Italy and then, through an importer, we found them in China. We have just cleared them through customs, and we hope to be able to deliver them to the Genoese hospitals in the next few hours.”
But Fondazione Capellino didn’t stop at this and, in line with its objectives, also wanted to provide, through its subsidiary Almo Nature, about 60,000 meals for cats and dogs that will be distributed free of charge to the staff of the two city hospitals.
“These are people who often work day and night to assist patients,” continues Capellino. “In this way, at least they will not have to look for food for their pets because we will make it available to them.”
A decision that falls within a path that began in 2018 when Pier Giovanni Capellino decided to donate the company and 100% of its profits to the foundation, which deals with the development of projects that protect dogs, cats and biodiversity.
“With this donation, we also want to continue a primary relationship with Genoa,” concludes Capellino, “where we have our headquarters—a dialogue with the city that we will continue after the crisis is over, thanks to various projects on the theme of sustainable agriculture with the Italian Institute of Technology.”
