The activity is part of the community project that Athletic Club Foundation has been running for over 10 years in order to help people with mental health problems
Julen Agirrezabalaga and Unai Núñez have met first hand one of the most outstanding community projects of the Athletic Club Foundation and which targets people with mental health problems. In particular, the players of the first team have visited the facilities of the Eragintza Foundation in Bizkaia, where Fundazioa technicians run weekly training for more than ten years. Eragintza is one of the nine associations that, along with the Osakidetza Mental Health Network, participates in this project.
During the day, Agirrezabala and Núñez were able to know firsthand the work of Eragintza, share time with their members and participate in some of their activities, such as working in the garden of the center. In addition, as a sign of hospitality and gratitude, the players have taken as a gift a beautiful red-and-white agenda and a basket of vegetables cultivated in the house itself.
Throughout the season, the Athletic Club Foundation runs weekly soccer workouts and multisport sessions with 4 groups from the Eragintza Foundation. Approximately 50 people from their occupational centers train on Wednesdays and Thursdays with Fundazioa technicians sharing values such as effort, solidarity and equal opportunities, fundamental pillars in the philosophy of the Club.
The objective of the project is to support the achievement of therapeutic purposes, as well as to enhance the socialization of patients with mental illness and to combat the stigma of mental illness through its visibility, using community resources (municipal sports, etc.). and organizing other reinforcement activities such as visits to the Museum, Lezama, etc.
Overall, about 700 people with mental illness participate in the project and more than 1,720 hours accumulated in workouts each season.
A club committed to society
Since its inception, the Athletic Club Foundation has worked with the purpose of returning to society the support that the club receives every day. Through programs such as the Mental Health Network, the Foundation not only promotes integration and equal opportunities, but also strengthens the role of Athletic Club as an entity committed to its environment.
With actions like this, the Athletic Club Foundation reaffirms its commitment to the community and to the values of solidarity, integration and support for vulnerable groups.
Functional diversity
