Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2020: The Iran Basketball Federation (IRIBF) has been voluntarily distributing up to 300 meals per day for the homeless and needy since March 30 with the activity expected to continue for as long as possible.
The federation’s ‘Basketball Benefactors and Veterans’ group has been socially active during the COVID-19 situation by reaching out and providing sanitary and healthy homemade food for the homeless.
Ali Shakouri, head of veteran and emeritus committee and member of the IRIBF, said that these homeless people would normally receive handouts from restaurants or benefactors but due to the current situation these activities have been difficult to continue.
As such, the IRIBF has been distributing between 100 to 300 meals – twice per day – to the needy. Besides lending a helping hand to the homeless, the federation has also been actively catering to the various members of the basketball community through online campaigns, workshops, clinics and webinars.
Members of the basketball community have also been involved in community service. Hamed Sohrab Nejad, a leading member of the men’s national team, has volunteered to gather and send two containers of medical equipment such as scrubs, masks, gloves and even wheelchairs to Towhid Hospital in Sanandaj, Kurdistan District.
Mohammadreza Salehian, a FIBA referee who owned a coffee shop which was closed due to the pandemic, started serving free coffee and cookies to the medical staff.
“By improving our social activities, we promote both basketball and the society,” said Masoud Anmari, IRIBF Secretary General. “We hope we cannot only be motivators for our people to love basketball, but also act as a pioneer federation in helping society so that other federations will follow. This can improve the popularity of sports, especially basketball, among people and leave a greater impact compared to other promotional activity.”
Source: FIBA