Celebrities
David Beckham, Victoria Beckham
Charities
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, UNICEF
Causes
December 17, 2006 by Steve Purcell
Footballer David Beckham and popstar wife Victoria recently stepped in to help 13-year-old Ollie Rycraft, a UK schoolboy fighting a fourth brain tumour who desperately needed a new life-changing wheelchair.
Ollie’s mother Debbie told how she was overwhelmed when she answered a phone call from Victoria Beckham’s mum Jackie Adams.
“When she said that David and Victoria would like to buy Ollie the wheelchair I burst into floods of tears,” she said. “At first I thought it was a joke but then when the news sunk in I just sobbed ‘thank you’ down the phone.”
A letter from Ollie’s physiotherapist Kate Mills had brought the courageous youngster’s struggle to the couple’s attention.
“I wrote and told them what Ollie had been through and within two weeks I received a call from Victoria’s mum to say they would fund the wheelchair and organise everything,” said Kate.
A delighted Ollie expressed his gratitude to the famous couple, saying, “I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the wheelchair because it helps me to get around and be independent […] I might be a Chelsea fan but I think David Beckham is great and a really good player.”
A spokesman for the Beckhams said they donated the money through their own children’s charity, but said that they prefer not to comment on individual cases as the work was not done for publicity reasons.
“The Beckhams’ children’s charity provides mobility equipment for children that need it –– they do it as and when they can and also do charity work for other charities such as the NSPCC and UNICEF,” he said. “The fund is a small but significant part of the charity work they do.”
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5 comments
it is great that celebrities can help disabled children in this way. we have applied for funding and have recieved a letter to say they are considering helping us.
Hi,
I work with lots of disabled children and have come across one in particular who would benefit from using a trike. I would like to apply to David and Victorias charity to see if they could fund it but dont know how to go about this? can anyone tell me contact details for the charity?
Thanks
Becky
Response to Rebecca Davies If you would like to e mail me I have the contact for the Beckhams childrens charity
Hi,
I work with local childrens hospitals in Belfast. I have two hospitals that need urgent help to attain wheelchairs for sick children.
I would appreciate it if anybody could contact me with details of how to make contact with the people associated with the Beckhams charity and also the format for applying for help.
Many Thanks
Margaret
Hi
I am a parent to a severly disabled little girl and have had no help with playschemes or holiday clubs for her. I know that there is a large demand for this kind of help in our area and i am trying to set up a childminding service specifically to cater for my daughter and other disabled children (especially wheelchair bound children).
I wondered whether i could write to the Beckhams and ask for their assistance. So many disabled children in the area would benefit from this service and it has been a passion of mine to do it for a while but i just do not have the funding to provide the equipment needed. If anyone could tell me how to apply to the charity it would help a great deal. I am slo hoping to start a campaign to highlight the lack of services for these children DESPITE what government initiatives might tell you,inclusive play DOES NOT exist !!!!
Lisa
about 1 year ago