In a year as difficult in the country's history as 2021, countless solidarity campaigns brought support and hope to many people. With the aim of highlighting the importance of such actions and emphasizing some notable examples, the Bem Maior Movement has prepared a list of ten initiatives that helped alleviate the suffering of Brazilians during this year of pandemic and severe economic crisis.
Mothers of the Favelas
Imagine being a mother, heading a family, and losing your job because of the crisis generated by the pandemic. To help these women who live in favelas, CUFA (Central Única das Favelas) continued its "Mães das Favelas" (Mothers of the Favelas) program full steam ahead in 2021. The project operates on two fronts: one is to deliver basic food baskets to these women in various cities across the country, and the other is to provide resources of the same value as the food baskets so that the mothers themselves can decide what is a priority for their families and can choose, for example, between buying food or cooking gas. The total raised in the solidarity fund in 2021 up to November 8th was R$ 425.8 million.
https://www.maesdafavela.com.br/
United against Covid-19
To form a network of partners to invest in science in the fight against the coronavirus and also to support the population suffering from hunger. This is an invitation made by the “United Against Covid-19” campaign of Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation), a traditional science and technology institution in health that produces the AstraZeneca vaccine in Brazil. In this campaign, individuals and organizations can contribute to an emergency fund for research and clinical studies and for actions to combat the coronavirus. Donations also contribute to leaving a legacy, such as the construction of a hospital center. From April 2, 2020 to May 26, 2021, R$ 491 million was raised.
https://unidos.fiocruz.br/
Rio Union Movement
With the pandemic, civil society organizations, companies, and individuals came together in Rio de Janeiro in a movement called União Rio, which helps to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic by working on the health front and supporting vulnerable communities. Among its actions, the group works on fundraising, technical and budgetary research for product purchases, carrying out necessary works, delivering donations, and logistics. Other similar groups were formed in other states, leading to the creation of a national movement, UniãoBR. Between January 2021 and November 19, 2021, R$14.7 million was raised.
https://www.movimentouniaorio.org/
Corona on the Wall – No Hunger
The organization Gerando Falcões maintains its campaign “Corona no Paredão – Fome Não” (Corona on the Wall – No Hunger) to deliver digital food baskets, enabled only for the purchase of hygiene products and food, to families in need of support. Gerando Falcões acts as a bridge, managing the logistical process until the benefit card reaches the affiliated social leader, who will then distribute it. R$150 is donated for two months to each family. The organization also invites individuals and corporations to engage in the campaign as “angels” to encourage more people to donate. The institution's website states that as of October 11, 2021, R$70.2 million had been raised.
https://site.gerandofalcoes.com/coronanoparedao
– HC with Life
"HC com Vida" is an alternative fundraising campaign of the Hospital das Clínicas, of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo. All donations go directly to the non-profit, philanthropic foundation of this faculty. Based on the needs of the hospital's crisis management department, objectives are established to be supported by contributions. One of the goals is to create an outdoor space outside the hospital ward so that hospitalized children can have moments of recreation and leisure, feeling the sunlight, the wind, and the scent of plants. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than R$ 30 million has been raised for the hospital.
https://viralcure.org/c/hc
Volunteer Architects
To support healthcare professionals amidst the immense pressure faced during the pandemic, a group of architects mobilized to build decompression and social spaces in hospitals, clinics, and emergency rooms. Their actions helped humanize the structures of these places, renovating and creating appropriate environments where professionals involved in the fight against COVID-19 could rest, sleep, and eat. The Volunteer Architects collective brought together donor companies, mobilized people from different areas, formed support networks, and also engaged communities. The group has already donated more than 50,000 hours of work in support of healthcare professionals.
https://www.instagram.com/arquitetosvoluntarios/
There are people who are hungry
"There Are People Who Are Hungry" is a national fundraising campaign for emergency actions against hunger, poverty, and violence during the pandemic, seeking to assist families identified by social organizations working in neighborhoods, favelas, and quilombos (settlements founded by escaped slaves) across all Brazilian states. The products distributed per family are valued at R$ 200. The movement is an initiative of the Black Coalition for Rights, an organization that brings together 200 entities, in partnership with Amnesty International and several other entities. Launched in March 2021, the campaign had raised over R$ 21.4 million by November.
https://www.temgentecomfome.com.br/
Brazil Without Hunger
One of the legacies of solidarity left by sociologist Herbert de Souza, known as Betinho, is still present. The Ação da Cidadania (Citizenship Action), founded by him in 1993, promoted the “Brasil Sem Fome” (Brazil Without Hunger) campaign in 2021, collecting the equivalent of 20 million kilograms of food, benefiting eight million Brazilians. The organization's main focus is an extensive mobilization network formed by committees of organized civil society. Although this year's edition of “Brasil Sem Fome” has already ended, the “Natal Sem Fome de 2021” (Christmas Without Hunger 2021) campaign is still running to continue providing support to many people.
https://www.acaodacidadania.org.br/
Matchfunding Face
Matchfunding Enfrente is a support model for projects in Brazilian peripheries that combines crowdfunding with investment from a fund composed of the Tide Setubal Foundation and its partners. Project descriptions are gathered in a section of the Benfeitoria platform, and donors make their contributions. For every R$1 donated, another R$2 is contributed by the fund. The campaign has editions with different themes, such as "Enfrente Estruturante," which brings together initiatives that seek to solve aggravated urban, social, and economic problems in the peripheries. The Enfrente platform has already mobilized more than R$11 million from 2020 to November 2021.
https://benfeitoria.com/canal/enfrente
– Matchfunding Saving Lives
For every R$1 donated to the Saving Lives Matchfunding project, BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) also donates R$1 to purchase equipment and supplies for public and philanthropic hospitals that treat at least 50% of their patients through the SUS (Unified Health System). In the first phase of the project, launched in April 2020, a crowdfunding campaign was conducted, raising R$113 million by July 5, 2021. That month, Saving Lives opened a new phase where donations start at R$100,000.
https://puragratidao.net/entenda-o-projeto/
Did you like it? Discover 5 more campaigns to donate to this holiday season and share them with your network.
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