Stephon Gilmore has stepped up in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The New England Patriots cornerback and UnitedHealthcare of New England donated $24,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston on Friday. The donation will provide families with grocery and pharmacy gift cards to help them buy food and medicine, according to WBZ-TV.
“It’s very big for me,” Gilmore told WBZ’s Dan Roche. “With everything going on and a lot of people in less fortunate situations, it just felt right in my heart to give and try to help as much as I can. There’s a lot of people who aren’t able to work and provide for their family, so it’s a blessing for me and I hope it helps as much as it can.
Gilmore, the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019 season, prefers to be present when he serves others, but the social-distancing measures intended to slow the COVID-19 pandemic prevent him from doing so.
“We’re all in this together,” Gilmore said. “We’re isolated and I wish I was there to actually help out physically. I’m more of a hands-on type of guy, but the situation is what it is. Hopefully I can help out those families.”
There were 20,974 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts as of Friday afternoon, with 4,534 of them residing in Suffolk County, which Boston comprises most of. Gilmore’s and UnitedHealthcare’s contributions will ease some of the burden on residents of the hard-hit area during these particularly difficult times.
