Enrique Tomás creates a foundation to fight hunger and invest in research

Enrique Tomás chose this Thursday the Zorrilla Theater in Badalona, the city from which he has built his business group, to present the project that currently excites him the most: a foundation that bears his name and in which he wants to involve his entire family and his closest friends and collaborators. "We are a very fortunate family and, for that reason, today we create an instrument to help other families who are not so fortunate," explained the ham entrepreneur, who aims, in the medium term, to be able to allocate between six million and eight million euros a year to social causes.

"The only wealth you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away." This phrase by Marcus Aurelius presided over the entire presentation of the Enrique Tomás Foundation, in an emotional event hosted by comedian Carlos Latre, attended only by those people ---the theater was practically full--- whom Tomás himself had invited directly via WhatsApp. "Everyone here is important in my life," stressed the executive, who, by surrounding himself with this close circle, exemplified the maxim he plans to apply to his foundation: everything will be based on the trust and commitment to execution of the people to whom he will entrust the funds for each project.

"I warn you from day one: the Enrique Tomás Foundation will not accept donations, I am not looking for your money, but I am looking for your talent and your commitment. All projects will be supported by a chain of trust that we will grow together to fight hunger today, prevent hunger tomorrow, and promote science and research," said Tomás.

His children, Núria and Albert, accompanied him on stage because they will be an active part of the foundation, which has set out not to invest a single euro in infrastructure or management expenses in order to allocate 100% of the resources to the foundational objectives. He was also accompanied by Father Ángel, founder of Mensajeros de la Paz, the first social entity to benefit from the Enrique Tomás Foundation. "I want to give my blessing to the foundation and thank you, Enrique; to people in need, a ham sandwich tastes like heaven," said the founder of the NGO, referring to the hundred daily sandwiches that Enrique Tomás already distributes at the church of San Antón, on Hortaleza Street in Madrid.

In this initiative, the Enrique Tomás Foundation has the support of the Europastry group, which donates the bread for the sandwiches, and whose president, Jordi Gallés, was also present at the event. He was also supported by other businessmen, such as Javier Cottet (Ópticas Cottet), Oscar Vela (Grupo Áreas), Joan Juvé (Juvé & Camps), Núria Vilanova (Atrevia), Ramon Agenjo (Damm) and Enric Crous, as well as chefs such as Nandu Jubany, Óscar Manresa and pastry chef Christian Escribà; and important personalities from the scientific world, such as Dr. Bonaventura Clotet and Dr. in Chemical Sciences Pilar Mateo.

Also present were his wife, Elisabeth Álvarez ---founder of the InOut beauty center---; his brothers and sisters ---Enrique Tomás is the youngest of a family of eleven!---; the mayors of Badalona and Alella, Rubén Guijarro and Marc Almendro, respectively; former mayor Xavier García Albiol, Gregori Salas ---alma mater of the Casacas Rojas, a gastronomic association to which Tomás belongs---; Ismael Beiro, winner of one of the editions of Big Brother and who is now running for mayor of Cádiz, and many other friends and collaborators of his company. Due to scheduling conflicts with his radio program, Justo Molinero could not be physically present, although in reality he was fully present, whom Tomás referred to as his "other father". "I would not be here today without Justo Molinero; he was my first loudspeaker," he recalled with affection. In a brief intervention, the mayor of Badalona assured that Enrique Tomás is "one of the best ambassadors that Badalona has in the world," along with other icons of the city such as La Penya (Club Joventut Badalona), swimmer Mireia Belmonte or Anís del Mono.

In addition to collaborating with Mensajeros de La Paz, the Enrique Tomás Foundation has already identified a second benefactor for its strategy to combat hunger: World Central Kitchen, the NGO for food preparation in crisis situations founded by José Andrés and also led by chef Carles Tejedor. The second pillar of action will be, according to Albert Tomás, "to prevent tomorrow's hunger." A first project in this area has already been identified: the construction of water wells will be financed in a village in Uganda where the orphanage where the Masaka Kids Africana reside is located, a group of children who became world-famous during the pandemic with a video in which they danced to the tune of the song Jerusalema. This initiative will be channeled through the music producer Silvia Álvarez (BCA Music).

Finally, the third leg of the Enrique Tomás Foundation will be dedicated to investing in science and research, with a first project to support the scientist and entrepreneur Pilar Mateo, who has developed an insecticidal paint that saves lives, as it allows fighting against mosquitoes that transmit diseases such as malaria, Ebola, dengue or the Zika virus.

And how will the Enrique Tomás Foundation be financed? The businessman has designed three sources of income for the social institution, some of them totally innovative. Firstly, he will allocate 10% of the sales of the most special ham sold by the brand, Glamurós, considered by the house as "the best among the best" as it is selected by a team of experts including the chain's own president.

Secondly, Enrique Tomás has set out to help citizens be happier with the launch of a program of "social and personal balance" that will feature the collaboration of experts such as Rafael Santandreu, author of the bestseller The Art of Not Making Your Life Bitter, and the psychiatrist Marian Rojas Estapé, author of books such as Find Your Vitamin Person or How to Make Good Things Happen to You. "Thanks to their interesting talks, we are going to fill theaters and all the profits from ticket sales will go to the foundation," explained Tomás.

Finally, the businessman, in alliance with Carlos Latre and other comedians, wants to launch a new 20-minute television format that he will try to market on major audiovisual platforms, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. "We are going to break molds with this television program, in which we will mix humor and music; we will hire the best with the aim that all platforms buy the program and we can raise a lot of money," concluded Tomás emotionally, convinced that in a few years he will achieve that the foundation makes annual donations of between six million and eight million euros.