News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 15, 2020: In the midst of the pandemic, as many of the region’s poor struggle to survive, two top sports stars are pitching in to help the Caribbean areas of their birth.
Kingston, Jamaica-born Manchester City and the England national team footballer, Raheem Shaquille Sterling, sent care packages to elderly residents in the town in Jamaica where he was born, according to the Observer.
Florence Campbell, 80, was pictured in the Jamaica Observer receiving a care package on Monday in Maverley – the area in St Andrew where Sterling was born and lived until moving to London aged five.
The news comes as Manchester City forward revealed that some of his family members have died from COVID-19 and it is why he has reservations about plans to restart the Premier League from June 1.
“From the moment we got told we were off I knew this was very serious. I’ve had friends whose grandmas passed away, I’ve had family members as well,” he said this week.
Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, Mets second baseman, Robinson Cano, has also kept busy distributing food and supplies in his native Dominican Republic. Cano indicated he helped organize a drive that filled 4,000 bags with food.
“We got rice, beans, spaghetti, tuna. We got sugar, salt, milk and salami, which is about 20 pounds. Go out and help people as much as I can,” said the 37-year-old, adding that he distributes the food and supplies personally so he can interact with the families.
“The government wants to do this,” Cano said. “And for me, I want to hear from [families]. I don’t want anybody else to come and tell me their excitement and how they feel about it. I like to go myself and experience that.”
