Assurant employee and client relationship manager Mariana Roth loves to volunteer. In concert with the Brazil engagement champion team, she has worked to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other charitable organizations in her home city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Recently, she was involved in an ECT-sponsored effort to provide much-needed supplies to the Doctors Without Borders shelter in Sao Paulo as the physicians battled the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among the homeless.

The ECT found a pressing need at a temporary Doctors Without Borders shelter giving aid to homeless people sick with COVID-19. “The shelter was asking for sanitary supplies, clothing — everything,” Mariana said. She planned the effort through the ECT and, together, they got started.

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The Challenge of Isolation

“It was a group effort,” Mariana said. “Everyone on the ECT — Marisa Rodrigues, Jose Codesso, Cibelle Ribeiro, Roberta Fernandes, Laluxa Garcia and Patricia Habis — wanted to do something to assist in fighting the pandemic. But we needed to find a way to help without being physically present because we couldn’t be around people. We had never had to do that before,” Mariana said.

“It was our first time doing virtual fundraising, just by using our corporate tools, email and Whatsapp, so that was a challenge. And so was the pandemic economy,” Mariana said. “Many of our coworkers had partners losing their jobs, so it was harder for them to give.”

The Challenge of the Homeless

The target of the fundraising also created a challenge. Sao Paulo, the ninth largest city in the world by number of inhabitants, has a homeless population of approximately 15,000, so there’s a certain amount of charity fatigue when it comes to this group. But Mariana and the ECT stayed true to Assurant’s company culture, which includes helping everybody. “It might’ve been easier to raise money for animals or children,” said Mariana, “but we decided the city’s homeless people were the most in need, especially the sick at the shelter.”

Mariana didn’t set a financial goal for the campaign. “Even if just one person donated, that would be a success,” she said. But the donations surpassed expectations, amounting to 4,617 Brazilian reals (about US$823 at the time of writing). This was enough to purchase a sizable pallet-load of supplies, including 155 liters of alcohol gel, 300 liters of sanitizer, 50 blankets, 100 protection masks and much more. “It was unexpected for the campaign to be such a success,” said Mariana. “We were very happy.”

Assurant Employee Stories: Helping the Homeless in Sao Paulo

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