He may be a soccer superstar, model, celebrity, husband to Posh Spice and a brand in his own right, but David Beckham is also a humanitarian par excellence. His philanthropic work in collaboration with UNICEF, and his support to children’s causes worldwide has earned him a fan-following which is worlds apart from the glamour and high-end fashion circles he usually moves in.
Beckham was one of the founding members of Malaria No More UK Leadership Council, and Help for Heroes, a support organization set up to help rehabilitate injured service personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Victoria and David Beckham Charitable Trust has provided hundreds of wheelchairs to children in need. He was also at the forefront of the campaign to raise funds for the National Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
In 2014, Beckham joined Robbie Williams in a Children in Danger campaign to raise awareness and funds for children affected by violence, disease, hunger and the chaos of war.
Since 2005, Beckham has been serving as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, traveling extensively to lend his voice and image to relief efforts and awareness programs run by the humanitarian organization. He has been to Sierra Leone, East Africa, China and the Philippines on missions to make a difference by using his fame to bring child-related social issues to the forefront.
In September 2015, David Beckham joined UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to unveil a digital installation at the United Nations General Assembly that is unique in its function. From across the globe, the ‘Assembly of Youth’ will bring voices of children and young people directly to the UN benches, helping those in power to understand and communicate better with the generations of the future.
His prowess on the football field has won him many well-deserved accolades, but Beckham has proved he’s more than a fierce warrior on the field. A tough guy with a soft heart, that’s as near to perfection as a man can get, and David Beckham is already there.