Endesa is collaborating with the Rafa Nadal Foundation to create a care centre for children and families affected by Covid-19 in Madrid

• Endesa has made a donation, as part of its Public Responsibility Plan to alleviate the impact of the pandemic, to the tennis player's foundation for the creation and maintenance of this centre.
  
• The Rafa Nadal Foundation is in the process of searching for a space in which to set up this facility, the third of its kind in Spain after the ones in Palma de Mallorca and Valencia.

The Rafa Nadal Foundation announces the creation of the Rafa Nadal Foundation Centre in Madrid, where it will support vulnerable children - and their families - who have been hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis. This expansion of the work carried out by the Rafa Nadal Foundation will be possible thanks to the donation the Mallorcan tennis player's charity has received from Endesa, which thus once again demonstrates its commitment in the fight against the social impact of the pandemic.

The one in Madrid will be the third Rafa Nadal Foundation Centre, after those opened in Palma de Mallorca (2014) and Valencia (2019). These centres provide a comprehensive programme to supplement schooling, which includes three areas of support for young people: sporting, educational and psychosocial.  The ultimate goal is to provide the children with the tools and support necessary to strengthen their social integration and promote their personal and educational development.

The Rafa Nadal Foundation Centre in Madrid will aim to minimise the negative impact that the pandemic has had on vulnerable groups, with non-welfare measures based on inclusion and guaranteeing equal opportunities. In addition to providing care for children, psychological support will be offered to families, as well as guidance to cope with unemployment and in managing official procedures.

Madrid is one of the communities with the highest rate of inequality and child poverty, in addition to registering a high incidence of the coronavirus. The Rafa Nadal Foundation is in the process of searching for a space in which to create the new centre. It is evaluating locations in different districts, based on variables such as the unemployment rate, the number of minors residing in the area and the presence of other social and sports resources.

"The situation we are experiencing as a result of the pandemic is depriving many boys and girls of their right to grow up free and happy, to play, learn and interact among equals", explains Maria Francisca Perelló, Director of the Rafa Nadal Foundation. "Given this context, we appreciate Endesa's involvement in facing this reality, its commitment to social and health initiatives that, today more than ever, are of vital importance", she added.

“What we do is as important to the implementation of the Endesa Accountability Plan as who we do it with. Collaborating with the Rafa Nadal Foundation is one of those opportunities where you know that things can only turn out well. Due to its prestige, the good work it does, the synergies between both parties and due to the human factor behind our two organisations. We are proud to be opening, along with the Rafa Nadal Foundation, a centre in Madrid so as not to leave, as we always say, anyone behind", says Endesa CEO José Bogas.

This is the second donation Endesa has made to the Rafa Nadal Foundation. In July 2020, the electricity company made its first contribution, destined in that case to increase and enhance care for vulnerable groups at the Rafa Nadal Foundation Centres in Palma and Valencia.

Parallel to these centres, the Rafa Nadal Foundation also has a school in India, as well as a tennis project aimed at young people with intellectual disabilities and a university scholarship programme for athletes. The objective with all of these is to influence the personal and social development of the children and young people being cared for, creating equal opportunities for all of them, regardless of their personal, social or economic situation.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Endesa has promoted several initiatives aimed at combatting the effects of the crisis on groups in vulnerable situations. The donation made to the Rafa Nadal Foundation is part of the Public Responsibility Plan (PRP) launched by the company in March 2020, which is endowed with 25 million euros and aims to alleviate the health and socio-economic effects of Covid-19. The electricity company estimates that the PRP will reach nearly two million beneficiaries through 150 projects that have now been completed or are currently underway, such as this one with the Rafa Nadal Foundation.

About Endesa

Endesa is the leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. It is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. It is an integrated business operation that encompasses everything from generation to marketing, and through Endesa X it provides added value services aimed at decarbonising the energy used in homes, companies, industries and government agencies. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and as such strongly promotes the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power Spain, the electrification of the economy and Corporate Social Responsibility. We also work in the latter area through the Endesa Foundation. We have around 10,000 employees. Endesa is part of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.

About the Rafa Nadal Foundation

The Foundation has been working for 10 years so that every child and young person can have access to the same opportunities and thus be able to develop their maximum potential, regardless of their origin, environment and socio-economic situation.

Sports and education are the pillars of the different projects. Through these two tools, the skills and capabilities of the beneficiaries are enhanced, their integration and personal and social development are strengthened, and values such as respect, equality, companionship, effort and trust are promoted. The work of the Rafa Nadal Foundation revolves around three areas of action: social integration, care for young people with intellectual disabilities and promoting talent.