BRASILIA, Brazil — At the end of the day, 300 Brazilian hospitals in 190 cities received 200,000 donated bedsheets, slippers and pillowcases.
“These bedsheets came at a very opportune moment. We are very much in need of this type of material. In the name of the entire population, I thank you,” said Mayor Rodrigo at a hospital in Santos in Monte Mor, near the interior of the state of São Paulo.
Marialice Fossem, the first lady of Jundiaí — a city in the state of Sao Paulo — participated in a workshop to assemble and deliver supplies to the University Hospital. In an interview with the local press she said, “The Church of Jesus Christ is our friend. It is a friend of the community. They practice true religion. They really are helping hands.”
Another volunteer, Dr. Carlos Casartelli, a director of a receiving hospital in Porto Alegres, said: “When I arrived, I thought that I would be leaving in a hurry. When I saw the work of the volunteers, the desire to leave left me. I am leaving here better than when I arrived. As I leave, I am a better and happier person.”
To increase awareness, Brazil’s largest broadcaster, Globo TV Network, donated airtime for a 30-second public service announcement about the Helping Hands program. It aired for two weeks prior to the project.
SBT-TV and Bandeirantes TV joined Globo TV by airing similar spots eight times daily, for three days.