Wasps show compassion in virus crisis as club help out with their MAGNIFICENT 7
Wasps have responded to the coronavirus outbreak with a series of gestures and acts to help keep morale up and reach out to those in need. Our rugby reporter BOBBY BRIDGE has listed seven such acts the club has made during these testing times...
1. Food parcels sent to Coventry residents
One of the first gestures Wasps made was to send out bags of fruit and vegetables from the Ricoh Arena.
Using their social media channels they asked for people to nominate elderly or vulnerable people and within a couple of hours, a van was out making drop-offs.
2. Performance chef makes delivery
If you’ve been lucky enough to eat Gaurav Abbi’s food during the week at Broadstreet RFC, you’ll understand why he is such a popular man.
He delivered food that was surplus to requirements from the training ground base to Emmaus, who provide homeless people with a roof over their head.
3. Social media dedication
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are hugely powerful tools for a professional sporting operation. Across the three platforms, Wasps have an audience of around 300,000 followers. All three have seen their profile picture changed to one containing the Wasps logo on the back drop of a house and the words ‘stay at home.’
The Twitter and Instagram bios also carry simple messages to stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives and #makethatcall
4. #Makethatcall campaign
Loneliness and isolation is massive factor during these testing times of staying at home to help stem the spread of coronavirus. Before the shutdown at Wasps, this initiative was launched with players calling season ticket members out of the blue. The players would talk about the experience and tag others. The response to it has been fantastic. It was such a simple gesture to make but the timing of it was perfect.
It’s genuinely changed many people’s mindsets, including my own.
5. Players conducting Facebook Live chats
Jimmy Gopperth, Billy Searle and Jack Willis have all conducted 30-minute long Facebook Live chats, allowing supporters to ask questions directly. They really provide a fantastic insight into the players, who of course, are away from press officers watching on during this period.
6. Players taking pay cuts
While it might not impact those outside the club directly, players and rugby staff agreed to a 25 per cent pay cut until Wasps are back playing Premiership rugby. A measure that was taken to help safeguard the future of the club which means so much, to so many people. While not able to offer rugby on the pitch at this moment in time to lift spirits, agreeing to this was a strong message to put out collectively.
7. Feeding the matchday buzz
Come the weekend, anybody with a love for sport is really feeling the pinch. Wasps, like many other clubs, opted to re-run a classic game on Saturday via its Twitter account. It was great fun to
If you’ve been lucky enough to eat Gaurav Abbi’s food, you’ll understand why he is such a popular man.