Raheem Sterling to Create Charity to Support Disadvantaged Children
By Tom Gott
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling is set to continue his campaign for social equality by founding a charity to help children from disadvantaged families.
Sterling was one of the first high-profile footballers in England to speak out against inequality, providing a platform for fellow stars like Marcus Rashford, whose campaign to provide food for disadvantaged children has earned him an MBE.
Day job has well and truly worn me out so time to log off. ?
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) October 24, 2020
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The compassion and empathy I have seen over the last 48hours has really blown me away, I am so so thankful and so very proud ♥️ pic.twitter.com/K4iIst7V3q
In an interview with The Times, Sterling confessed he is 'done talking' and is now preparing to found a charity focused on social mobility, including providing university scholarships for disadvantaged children and more general support for those from poorer backgrounds.
“I’m not really fussed about having this million and that million," Sterling said about his personal wealth. "What will make me happy is seeing I am able to help. Even if it’s five people, even if it’s one, at least I have helped someone come out of their bubble and experienced that there is something better to England.
“I want this to be humongous, and not just humongous for myself but for the people involved."
Sterling, who lost his father when he was just 18 months old, is keen to draw on his experiences from a low-income, single-parent household to offer up as much support as possible to children who find themselves facing a difficult life through no fault of their own.
"I know the feeling. I know the pressures parents are under," he added. “That’s me finished with the ‘what can happen, what should happen’.
"Now I’m trying to put into place stuff I can do myself. Stuff to give young people in the same circumstances I was in another shot. If there is a university they want to go to, football equipment they need, other things ... I want to be a helping hand.
"I kept saying about [the lack of black and minority ethnic] people in positions and boardrooms and blah blah blah. But nah nah nah. It comes down to, OK, I come from northwest London, I move out of my area — what good is it if I take all I have made in life, my success and just build a big house somewhere? I’m happy, cool, but that’s not who I am."