A Go Fund Me project started by Mediacom Communications chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso to help hospitals in Florence, Italy buy needed medical equipment and supplies to fight COVID-19, has surpassed its goal and continues to raise money to help that area.

Commisso, who also owns Florence soccer team ACF Fiorentina, started the Go Fund Me (Forza e Cuore, or “Strength and Heart) on March 17 to help hospitals in and around the Florence area to buy needed supplies. Italy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 59,000 cases and nearly 5,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Forza e Cuore had set a goal of raising €500,000 for the hospitals, but surpassed that goal less than 72 hours after it began. In an interview Friday (March 20), Commisso said he would keep the fundraiser going as long as possible to help the area. As of Monday, March 23, the effort has raised €547,482 ($591,833) from 1,600 donors, according to the Go Fund Me site. 

In a statement Monday, Commisso and ACF Fiorentina said the fundraising effort will continue for as long as hospitals need help, equipment and economic assistance to fight the virus.

“Our hope is that as many people as possible continue to donate – because we’ll only win this battle if we stay together!,” Commisso and the team said in the statement. “Our hope is that as many people as possible continue to donate – because we’ll only win this battle if we stay together!”

In an interview, Commisso said that many donors to Forza e Cuore have been American companies both inside and outside of the cable industry.

“I want to thank those people in America within the industry and outside the industry doing their best by whatever means and whatever way necessary to help the people of Italy and specifically the people of Florence,” Commisso said. 

Mediacom Communications chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso, along with his soccer club ACF Fiorentina, have started a Go Fund Me project to help hospitals struggling to battle the coronavirus in areas in and around the team’s home of Florence, Italy, with his family personally donating €250,000 (about $270,000) to kickstart the effort.

Commisso purchased ACF Fiorentina in June.The team, known as The Viola because of the purple jerseys team members wear, launched “Forza E Cuore” (Strength and Heart) on Go Fund Me earlier this week with a goal of raising €500,000 (about $543,000).

So far the GoFundMe project has raised €363,761 euros ($395,000), according to the site. 

“I’ve been following the situation in Italy very closely and with a great degree of worry in recent days, albeit from afar,” Commisso said in a press release. “I want to offer my support, my family’s support and that of the club and all our friends to all those who are doing everything they can to save lives and stop the spread of this invisible and insidious enemy as quickly as possible. I would like to invite the extended Viola Family to come together even more in this difficult time and support the people and organizations fighting on the front line. I want to say a special thank you to the doctors, nurses and hospital staff that are currently fighting the toughest of battles in Tuscany.”

According to the team website, funds raised will be donated to the Careggi Foundation and the Santa Maria Nuova Onlus Foundation, whose mission is to financially support the main hospitals of the city of Florence.

“We thank president Commisso, his family and everyone at Fiorentina for this precious donation,” said Careggi Foundation director general Rocco Damone in a press release. “We are working to use the funds to purchase personal protection equipment for operators. The donation has happened quickly and it’s something that we need immediately in order to provide more essential equipment to protect the doctors and nurses responsible for treating patients affected by coronavirus. On behalf of the entire Careggi community, I want to say thank you to the Commisso family.”

The funds will go toward providing essential medical supplies and equipment – including masks, surgical clothing, hand sanitizer, infrared laser thermometers, virus testing kits and ventilators – for hospitals in the Florence area. .

“I want to say a sincere thank you to the Commisso family and the Viola Family for this important donation, which we see as a gesture of solidarity and support at a time when our professionals are working across our healthcare facilities on a daily basis,” said Santa Maria Nuova Onlus Foundation president Giancarlo Landini in a press release. “The Santa Maria Nuova Onlus Foundation has worked quickly to process initiatives like this one so that they can be as useful as possible in tackling this health emergency.”

Italy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with more than 31,000 cases and 2,500 deaths since the outbreak began. Italian hospitals have been overwhelmed by a surge of patients with the virus that have strained the nation’s healthcare system. 

Mediacom Communications said it will become the official jersey sponsor of Italian soccer club ACF Fiorentina, a move that will help the team, purchased earlier this year by Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso, compete.

Commisso purchased the club in June. He also owns the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League.  ACF Fiorentina, based in Florence, Italy and known by fans as “La Viola” for the violet color of its uniforms, has had some past success, winning the Italian Cup in 2001. The team finished 16th in Serie A last season.

According to reports, the club did not have a jersey sponsor last season. Mediacom had sponsored shirts for the club during the preseason. Terms of the most recent deal were not disclosed.

In a press release, Mediacom said the sponsorship will provide “considerable funds to help the Florence-based club compete in the world of soccer with its very stringent rules.”

Europe’s governing soccer body, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), instituted Financial Fair Play regulations in the 2011-12 season which broadly tied the amount of money a club could spend on the income it generated over a three year period.

“I believe greatly in the image potential of Florence and Fiorentina,” Commisso said in a press release. “This sponsorship will ensure the Fiorentina brand enjoys not just national but also international visibility thanks to Mediacom. I am convinced that strengthening the ties between Mediacom and Fiorentina is essential to obtain reciprocal benefits and help both companies achieve significant targets.”