English Footballer Marcus Rashford Donates Millions For Child Poverty, Becomes Youngest-Ever Person Ever to Top ‘Giving List

May 26th, 2021 Stories

At 23, Manchester United soccer star Marcus Rashford has already scored a lot of goals, but becoming the youngest person to top The Sunday Times Giving List—a metric of philanthropy among rich Brits—is an achievement that has the whole country cheering.

Donations he made, and those by people inspired in response to his efforts to combat food poverty, generated a total of $28 million (£20 million), giving him a “Giving Index” ranking of 125% of his personal net worth of $23m (£16m).

Over the past year, Rashford has become something of a hero to many Brits: Last year, as second waves of COVID-19 abounded, he faced down the UK government’s proposal to cut spending towards free school lunches.

Here’s how he managed it.

The striker, who has often been a shining light in difficult recent seasons at Manchester United, and a fixture on England’s national team, managed to shine some of the spotlight he receives on an issue close to his heart: having experienced hunger as a child himself, he knew that disadvantaged kids rely on school lunches for daily calorie requirements.

His insistent lobbying got Boris Johnson to U-turn on the Conservative government’s position—coaxing £170m ($240m) for the free food voucher program from last November through to the summer.

In response, Rashford won the Professional Footballers Merit Award, and was recommended by Johnson to receive an MBE (Member of the British Empire).

“As a young Black man from Wythenshawe, never did I think I would be accepting an MBE, never mind an MBE at the age of 22,” he said to Sky Sports in response.
A friendly rivalry

“What Marcus has done over the last 12 months is incredible,” said Liverpool team captain Jordan Henderson before a recent game between the two clubs. “He has battled against food poverty, given a voice to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have one, and used his own reputation for the benefit of others.”

Henderson, who has captained the second-most decorated English club for 7 years, came in sixth place on the Times’ Giving List, by raising £4 million ($6 million) from his fellow footballers to join his own contributions towards the UK National Health Service to help support its response to the pandemic.

Again, we come to a point in the story where non-football fans will be at a loss for understanding the gravity of Henderson’s words, as Liverpool and Manchester United are the bitterest of rivals. As the two most successful clubs in English football, their matches are among the most watched of any on Earth.

Rashford has continued his giving work, establishing the Child Food Poverty Task Force, linking up with many of the nation’s biggest supermarkets to help end childhood hunger.

“His own experience of relying on free school meals to eat brings authenticity and compassion to his campaigning, and his status as a Premier League footballer means people and politicians sit up and take notice,” said Lindsay Boswell in a statement. CEO of FareShare, a non-profit dedicated to fighting hunger and food waste in the UK, Boswell named Rashford as an ambassador.