Marcus Rashford is a household name for every Manchester United as well as most football fans. Going strong at 23 and improving daily, Rashford has a lot to prove and a lot of tricks up his sleeve to get to the promised land! Being involved in 120 goals in 238 matches for the Red Devils within this tender age is a record in itself.
Recently, Rashford has found himself at the epitome of a life outside the pitch as well as coming up as a public figure fighting for the children living in poverty in the UK. The United forward had demanded that the UK Government ends the prevailing child poverty in the country after launching a public petition detailing how important it is to eradicate the social issue.
Rashford teamed up with Fareshare earlier this year, which is a scheme designed to ensure that the community’s most vulnerable don’t stay hungry. Rashford has also been the main propagator as well as urged the UK Government to reverse their stance on their decision to end free school meals over the summer months. The United star has since asked for an extension of the scheme, which allows around 1.3 million children to claim free school meal vouchers in England's summer holidays, which was of utmost importance during the coronavirus pandemic.
The England international also helped raise over £20m in tandem with FareShare, which helped millions of vulnerable families with sufficient food parcels as a result of their work.
Rashford’s heartfelt efforts got him in the eyes of the Queen, who awarded the young man an MBE!
The petition which Rashford wrote is as follows: -
” Covid-19 has been tough on us all but Government should ensure children don’t pay the price:
– 14% of parents & 10% of children have experienced food insecurity over the last 6 months
– 32% of families have lost income as a result of Covid-19
– Demand for food banks this winter is predicted to be 61% higher than last.
With the Child Food Poverty Taskforce, I am calling for the Government to allocate money to
– Expand free school meals to all under-16s where a parent or guardian is in receipt of Universal Credit or equivalent benefit
– Provide meals & activities during all holidays
– Increase the value of Healthy Start vouchers to at least £4.25 per week, and expand the scheme.”
Speaking about what his achievement and being made an MBE, Rashford said to the BBC: "It's a nice moment for me personally but I feel like I'm still at the beginning of the journey that I set out to try to achieve.”
"I think what I would like to do now that I'm in this position is just speak directly to the prime minister and really ask for the vouchers to be extended until at least October half-term because I think that's what the families need.”
Even the club, Manchester United and its manager Ole Gunner Solksjaer are happy with Rashford’s accolades and also released a club statement in which they were ‘delighted’.
Sports Social wishes the young man all the luck in all his work on and off the field in the times to come!
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