IMMEDIATE SUPPORT: Zara owner Amancio Ortega is donating 100 million euros via the Amancio Ortega Foundation in the wake of devastating flooding around Valencia last week, which resulted in at least 217 deaths.
The donation will help the social services departments of the town councils affected by the flooding to alleviate the affected citizens’ most pressing needs.
The foundation said it will work with the appropriate authorities to ensure that this aid reaches the victims in the quickest and most effective manner possible.
Extreme weather has not only wreaked havoc in Valencia, where in some cases a year’s worth of rain fell in a day, parts of Catalonia, including Barcelona, were also hit by flooding on Monday. More than 80 flights have been canceled or delayed as Barcelona’s El Prat airport was flooded.
Founded in 2001 by the creator of Inditex, the biggest fast-fashion group in the world with brands including Zara, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho, the Amancio Ortega Foundation aims to create opportunities for the participants and beneficiaries, especially the most vulnerable, in two key sectors: education and social welfare.
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It runs a scholarship program, through which Spanish high school students spend an academic year in educational institutions in the U.S. and Canada, a master’s in journalism and audiovisual production, and the Impulsa project, which promotes the completion of compulsory schooling for students from vulnerable backgrounds.
On the social welfare front, it leads the construction of the first comprehensive pediatric palliative care center in Madrid, the NIPACE neurological rehabilitation center in Guadalajara, and the Únicas Sant Joan de Déu Center in Barcelona. It also supports the most vulnerable sectors of society through initiatives with the Spanish Red Cross, Caritas Spain and the Spanish Federation of Food Banks.
In 2023, it invested 81.1 million euros in its own projects and financing to other institutions.
