Rock-bottom Stevenage have launched their own rescue plan to save the elderly from the coronavirus – even if it bankrupts the club.
Propping up the League, and eight points adrift of safety, Boro are struggling on the pitch.
But chairman Phil Wallace's call to save OAPs who are housebound and will be told to stay indoors for up to four months by the Government has just sent Stevenage to the top of the table for reaching out to their community.
Wallace intends to mobilise the club's catering staff, young players and an army of volunteers to distribute food to over-70s in the town.
He said: “We have always prided ourselves on being a community club and now it’s time to show what that means.
“Starting immediately, we will start to work on the logistics of obtaining details of folks that will need help.
“We have kitchens we are not using, we have young players that can’t play football and we have an army of youngsters that, if asked and organized properly, would be willing to help distribute meals and obtain supplies.
"I intend to work with our CEO Alex Tunbridge to make this happen.
“To be honest, we have no idea how the club can survive for long whilst paying players and staff with no income, but some of these folks have nobody to help them and we will make sure we are there for them.
"If that means we cook food and prepare snacks, that is what we’ll do. If it is getting essential supplies to them, that is what we'll do.
“We will be there for these people and we would encourage all local businesses in the area to join with us. If we all work together, we can avoid serious hardship to people that need the most help.
Whilst I understand the logic behind flattening the peak curve, so that the NHS are able to treat more people with the limited ITU beds and equipment available, this will undoubtably cause anguish for those folks that can’t use the internet, have no relatives and no way of ordering supplies or obtaining meals.”
