Carrefour Joins Red Cross, Tbilisi City Hall to Support Socially Vulnerable Elderly

Keeping older people safe is especially important during the coronavirus pandemic, as they are the most vulnerable group in this new, invisible enemy. All areas of society must unite to ensure their safety and well-being during these difficult times, and business sector representatives in Georgia are sparing no efforts to contribute to achieving this important goal.

Carrefour, as a company with high social responsibility, has joined the Red Cross and Tbilisi City Hall campaign to support socially vulnerable elderly. Within the campaign, not only Carrefour Georgia , but all its customers, have a chance to contribute to helping elderly in need.

As part of the social campaign, you can buy products at Carrefour Georgia stores , which will be packed by Red Cross volunteers and distributed to socially vulnerable elderly people with the involvement of regional administration employees.

Together with the Red Cross Society in Georgia and nutritionists, a minimum package has been developed, which envisages about ten days' supply and includes two areas: food, medicine and hygiene items. These include: sugar, rice, tea, pasta, buckwheat, oat flakes, wheat flour, oil, salt, beans, biscuits and primary consumption items.

The package will be delivered to single elderly people with the help of trained volunteers and regional administration employees. The campaign is organized on the recommendation of the Interagency Coordination Council.

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, together with Deputy Mayor Ilia Eloshvili, personally visited Carrefour Hypermarket in Tbilisi Mall to check the process of its implementation.

“We are continuing our project which is successfully helping the elderly. A special platform has been created for this purpose. Carrefour Georgia has expressed interest to join us. A special corner has been set up in each location to collect products. Citizens who want to do so, can buy the products on the list which will then be delivered to those who most need our support today. Many thanks to Carrefour Georgia for giving us this opportunity, and most importantly, to the ordinary citizens who truly care about helping those who are at risk today,” said Kaladze.

Christophe Orcet, Country Manager of Carrefour, noted: “We are delighted to have an opportunity to be a part of the very important campaign initiated by Tbilisi City Hall to help those who need it most. During this difficult period, elderly people are in the most risk group and from today on, with support of our partner organization the Red Cross Society in Georgia, not only Carrefour but our customers visiting the stores, have the chance to make a contribution to the safety and well-being of more than 10,000 socially vulnerable elderly living in Georgia.”

What’s more, Carrefour and Mastercard are teaming up to launch a new social campaign that on the one hand will help reduce the risk of spreading the virus by promoting contactless payments and, on the other hand, will help single elderly people.

“Today, paying in cash is associated with certain risks, and for this reason, we want our customers to take care of their own safety while caring for others and use contactless payment methods,” note the representatives of Carrefour.

By paying with Mastercard, both companies help people to get involved and contribute to such important and significant projects as "Helping the Elderly."

In any branch of Carrefour, from May 18 to June 22, if you pay by Mastercard (whether it is by contactless card payment; using a mobile phone or other device), part of the money will directly go to help single elderly people. It is planned to help 500 single elderly people as part of the campaign. They will receive baskets, specially created for them, full of food and various household items.

It should be noted that for these purposes, in order to prevent COVID-19, Mastercard has increased the limit of contactless payments worldwide, including in Georgia, which now stands at 100 GEL instead of the previous 45 GEL.

“Use cashless payment. Look after yourself, while caring for others!” is the main motto of the new social campaign.