The San Jose Earthquakes and their supporters teamed up on Friday to feed frontline healthcare workers at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The San Jose Ultras, the club’s most prominent supporters’ group, raised over $4,000 through a GoFundMe page, and then that amount was matched in full by the Quakes Foundation. The money was used for three catered food trucks during the hospital’s largest shift change between day and swing, feeding over a thousand hospital staff members.
“We’re extremely proud of the San Jose Ultras for stepping up to kickoff this event,” Earthquakes director of community relations Rahul Devaskar said in a team release. “The group has supported our team on the field for many years so we’re fortunate to be able to support their initiatives out in the community.”
While wearing masks and adhering to safe social distancing practices, members of the Ultras held a banner that read, in all caps, “Thank you for risking your lives to save ours.” They also waved flags and showed appreciation for those tackling the public health crisis.
“Reaching and surpassing our fundraiser's goal in a couple of hours made me so proud of our Black and Blue community,” Dan Margarit, leader of the San Jose Ultras, said in a team release. “Thanks to everybody who donated and to the Quakes Front Office for matching what we raised."
