Marcus Rashford, the FC Barcelona and England striker, is knownnotonlyforhisgoalsbutalsoforhavingpersuadedthe Britishgovernmenttocombatchildhunger.
TheGreatWork:"Endingchildfoodpoverty"
Unlike other players who only donate money, Rashford designed a massive political advocacy campaignthatchanged UK laws The origin of it all was that Rashford doesn't come from a wealthy family. He grew up relying on free school meals and food banks During the 2020 pandemic, when schools closed, he realized that millions of children would be leftwithouttheironlyreliablemealoftheday.
In June 2020, he wrote an open lettertotheBritishParliament.Whenthegovernment initiallyrefusedtoextendfoodvouchersthroughthesummer,Rashfordusedhissocial media to mobilize public opinion. He succeeded in getting the government to backtrack and allocate an additional £120 million to feed 1.3 million children,andhe did it again in November of that same year, securing a support package of £400 million.
TheCreationofthe"WorkingGrouponChildFoodPoverty"
Rashford formed a coalition with major supermarket chains and food banks (such as Aldi, Tesco, and Kellogg's) to push for long-term, systemic changes, ensuring that accesstofoodisaright,notaprivilege.
"Thisisn'taboutpolitics,it'sabouthumanity.Lookinginthemirrorandknowingthat we'vedoneeverythingwecantoprotectchildrenwhocan'tprotectthemselves"
MarcusRashford
Lionel Messi is as active off the pitch as he is on it. His community and philanthropic work is channeled primarily through his own foundation and his long-standingrolewiththeUnitedNations.
LeoMessiFoundation
Founded in 2007, his private foundation focuses on health,education,andsportsforvulnerablechildren.
It has been one of the main donors to the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center in Barcelona, one of the largest pediatric oncologycentersinEurope.
The foundation has funded the construction of classrooms in Syria, health centers in Argentina,andwaterwellsinAfrica.
Recently, Messi spearheaded this initiative in India to strengthen the youth football ecosysteminresource-poorregions.
He has also been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2010 and is one of the organization's most visible figures. He conducts global campaigns, leveraging his enormous social media reach to advocate for children's rights and provide humanitarian aid in emergencies (such as earthquakes or armed conflicts). He also regularly participates in auctions of personal items (like his 2022 World Cup jerseys) tofundeducationalprograms.
Since arriving in the United States, he has maintained a close connection with local initiatives in South Florida that use soccer as a tool for social inclusion. In Rosario, Argentina, his hometown, he frequently collaborates with children's hospitals and neighborhoodclubstoensurechildrenhavesafespacestoplay.
“Beingfamousgivesmetheopportunitytohelpthosewhoneeditmost,especially children.” LionelMessi
The LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF) is considered one of the most innovative philanthropic organizations led by an athlete Unlike other foundations that only donate money, LeBron has created a comprehensive ecosysteminhishometownof Akron,Ohio,toaddresspovertyholistically.
Its approach is based on the "We Are Family" philosophyandisdividedintoseveralkeypillars:
PROMETOSchool(IPS)
Opened in 2018 in partnership with Akron Public Schools, it is not a private school, butanofficialpublic school designed for children with the lowest academic performance and greatest social risk. Students receive free breakfast, lunch, snacks, uniforms, bicycles, and transportation. The school also offers a family resource center where parents can obtain their GED and receive legal oremploymentadvice.
Housing:PROMETOVillageandPROMETOHousing
LeBronunderstoodthatachildcannotlearnwithoutasaferoofovertheirhead
PROMETO Village is a transitional housing complex for families facing immediate crises, such as homelessness or domestic violence. PROMETO Housing is a newer development (2023-2024) offering 50 long-term affordable housing units for families needingpermanentstabilitynearschools
The I PROMISE Institute hasanagreementwiththeUniversityofAkrontoguarantee full college scholarships to all students who graduate from the I PROMISE program andmeetcertainacademicandcommunityservicerequirements.
"InAkron,Ohio,wehaveasaying:'Nothingisgiven.Everythingisearned.'Butfor somekids,theyjustneedachancetostart." LebronJames
StephenCurryandhiswifeAyesha'scommunity workisamongthemoststructuredinsportstoday. ThroughtheirEat.Learn.Play.Foundation,theyhave createdamodelthataddressesthethreemostcritical problemsfacingchildreninOakland,California.
Eat Learn Play Foundation:TheThreePillars Model
Unlikeotherfoundationsthatonlydonatemoney,the Currysfocusonwhattheycallthe"wholechild." Theirgoalfortheendofthe2025-2026schoolyearis tohaveraisedandinvestedmorethan$50millionin theOaklandcommunity.
EAT(Food)
Thegoalistoeradicatechildhoodhunger.Theyhavedistributedmorethan25million mealssincetheirinception TheEat Learn Play Bus,amobilerestaurantandfood pantryonwheels,travelsthroughthemostunderservedneighborhoodsdelivering freshfoodandmealspreparedbylocalrestaurants,alsosupportingthelocaleconomy
LEARN(EducationandLiteracy)
Curryisobsessedwithclosingthereadinggap In2024,theylauncheda$25million initiativeforone-on-onetutoringfor10,000studentswhoarebelowtheirreading level
Bytheendof2025,thefoundationhadbegunamassiveplantorenovateOakland's elementaryschoollibraries,fillingthemwithculturallyrelevantbooksandmodern spaces.
PLAY(SportsandSafeSpaces)
"Steph"believesthatplayisaright,notaprivilege.Hehasrenovatedmorethan20 basketballcourtsandplaygrounds(knownas"CurryCourts")inurbanareasandaims totransform28schoolyardsinto"dreamspaces"withmulti-sportcourtsandsafeplay areasbytheendof2026.
"WewanttoensurethateverychildinOaklandhasthesameopportunitiesthatwe wantforourownchildren" StephenCurry
MadelaynneMontaño,thelegendaryColombianopposite hitterandoneoftheall-timeleadingscorersinworld volleyballhistory,hasfocusedhercommunityworkon trainingnewtalentandusingsportsasatoolforsocial transformationinColombia.
Madelaynne'sworkismorehands-onanddirect,centered onknowledgetransfer.
"MadelaynneMontaño"VolleyballClinics
Afterretiringfrominternationalcompetition,Madelaynne hasdedicatedherselftoconductingclinicsandsportscamps invariousregionsofColombia,especiallyintheValledel Caucadepartment.
Thegoalistoteachhigh-leveltechniquetounderprivilegedyouthwholackaccessto elitecoaches
Herimpactextendsbeyondvolleyballitself,encompassingherexperienceofhowthe sportallowedhertotraveltheworldandobtainaneducation,motivatinggirlstosee sportsasapotentialcareerpath.
Women'sEmpowermentandLeadership
MontañousesherplatformtoadvocateforequalityinColombiansports Shehas servedasamentortothenewgenerationoftheColombianWomen'sNationalTeam, helpingyoungplayersmanagethepressureofplayinginforeignleagues(suchas Korea,Italy,orTurkey).
Sheworkswithlocalorganizationstoensurethatwomen'svolleyballreceivesthe samesupportandvisibilityasmen'svolleyballorsoccer.
"TalentinColombiaiseverywhere,butopportunitiesarenot.Mygoalistobethat bridgesothatgirlsseevolleyballnotjustasagame,butasapathandaprofessional lifeproject." MadelaynneMontaño
SerenaWilliams'workistheperfectexampleof howsuccessinsportscantranslateintoanempire ofsocialandeconomicimpact Herapproachis uniquebecauseitcombinestraditional philanthropywithventurecapitaltogenerate long-termchange.
TheSerenaWilliamsFund:EducationandJustice
Theeducationalpillarofherfoundationisbased onbuildinginfrastructureinhistorically marginalizedcommunities.
SchoolsinAfricaandJamaica:Shehasfunded theconstructionofschoolsincountriessuchas Kenya,Uganda,andZimbabwe,aswellasthe MarshawnCherryPrimarySchoolinJamaica.
SerenaVentures:"Purpose-DrivenCapitalism"
Serenahasrevolutionizedthewayathletesgiveback.Insteadofjustdonating,she invests
InvestinginDiversity:79%ofthecompaniessheinvestsinthroughSerenaVentures arefoundedbywomenorpeopleofcolor Thisyear,herfundhasfocusedonwomen's healthtechnology(FemTech)companiesandsustainablesolutions,demonstratingthat financialsupportfordiverseentrepreneursisapowerfulwaytochangethe community.
TheYetundePriceResourceCenterProject
Thisisperhapshermostpersonalproject,foundedwithhersisterVenusinhonorof theiroldersister,whowasmurderedin2003.Itoffersresources,therapy,andsupport toindividualsandfamiliesaffectedbycommunityviolence.Ithelpsvictimshealfrom traumaandfindemploymentopportunities.
"Mygoalhasalwaysbeentousemyvoicetoempowerthosewhofeeltheydon'thave one.Thefoundationisn'tabouttennis;it'saboutbreakingdownthebarriersthat povertyandinjusticehavebuilt" SerenaWilliams
