Richarlison and Yerry Mina are providing aid to the people of their respective hometowns, as Brazil and Colombia join the rest of the world in trying to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Richarlison has remained wedded to the community of home region Nova Venecia in Brazil since leaving to pursue a professional football career with America Mineiro more than five years ago.

He responded to the coronavirus outbreak by providing 500 food parcels to households in his town, each containing enough supplies to feed one family for the next month.

Deliveries of the food hampers have started, with all 500 expected to reach homes by Saturday. The deliveries are being assisted by city health authorities, following safety protocols.

Additionally, Richarlison, in his third season at Goodison Park following a transfer from Watford, is auctioning some of his most treasured memorabilia to generate funds for the relief effort in Brazil.





Pictured below: Families collect food parcels donated by Richarlison





The 22-year-old spends his summer holiday at home and stages an annual football match to raise money to feed impoverished communities in the state of Espirito Santo, which houses Nova Venecia.

Equally, when floods devastated areas of Brazil this year, claiming dozens of lives and causing thousands to lose their homes, the Everton forward joined forces with his agent Renato Velasco to provide lorry loads of food for the worst-affected cities.

Mina, meanwhile, has mobilised his charitable foundation to supply food and essential hygiene items and cleaning supplies for people back in his birthplace of Guachene in Colombia.

The Everton defender established the Yerry Mina Foundation in the region in 2016 when he was still playing in his homeland for Independiente Santa Fe.

Mina, who joined Everton from Barcelona in summer 2018 after his starring role in Colombia’s colourful World Cup campaign, is asking family members who oversee the daily operation of his charity to distribute food parcels and other critical goods to help people manage this unprecedented period in time.

Mina’s gesture is characteristic of a player who was named Everton’s PFA Community Champion for 2018/19.

The 25-year-old has been a prominent figure in a host of Everton in the Community [EitC] events and is unfailingly a star turn at the charity’s annual showcase.

Mina’s primary motive for launching his own charity was to “empower kids” in a town afflicted by the twin curses of crime and poverty.

He returns home every summer to support the work being undertaken by his organisation, which is the brainchild of father Jose.

Asked this year about his eponymous foundation, Mina said: “I try to do what’s right in my heart.

“Whatever good I’ve got in me, I try to pass it on.

“My dad had the idea to set up the charity.

“Guachene is a place very low on resources. We had to establish something to give the young kids a chance – to be able to help them make their own decisions and choose the right path.

“They could have a lot of distractions, whether it be drugs or getting involved in carrying firearms, basically wrong examples in life.

“What we try to do is empower the kids so they have other places to go."