Amancio Ortega Foundation donates 20 million euros to charity

The Amancio Ortega Foundation has donated 20 million euros to the international Roman Catholic charity, Cáritas, to provide primary care in the form of food, pharmaceutical aid, housing and school material to Spain's most needy people.

The two organisations signed a contract today to provide a Programme of Primary Care from now until the end of 2013.

It is hoped the donation will "strengthen" the work carried out by Cáritas with the neediest people and families in Spain.

Last year, the charity helped 1,800,000 people in Spain, 200,000 more than in 2010, and more than four million people across the world.

Cáritas' managing director, José Luis Pérez Larios, said the donation from the Amancio Ortega Foundation was "very important" and has given assurances that it will indeed "strengthen the action" carried out by the organisation amongst the country's most vulnerable people.

"We are hugely grateful, as we our to all the donors and volunteers who support our work", he said.

Europe's richest man and founding Chairman of Spanish retail group Inditex, billionaire Amancio Ortega, set up the foundation in 2001 with the intention of promoting charitable projects for the poorest and most vulnerable people in Spain and worldwide, especially in the fields of education and social aid.

(picture shows Pablo Isla, Chief Executive of the Inditex Group, accompanied by Flora Pérez Marcote, Vice-President of the Amancio Ortega Foundation)