Burberry has teamed up with Marcus Rashford on a youth charity project
Burberry has teamed up with English footballer Marcus Rashford on a new initiative in which it will help to support young people around the world. The British fashion house will join forces with charities supporting the youth of today, helping to empower voices in programmes that range from education to supporting young creatives and artists, and helping entrepreneurs to tackle some of the world’s most significant challenges.
Rashford has been heavily praised for his work in helping to end child food poverty in the UK with his recent campaign to extend free school meals during the holidays, for which he was recently awarded an MBE.
As part of the new initiative with Burberry, Rashford has spoken with various young people on video under an 'Ask Marcus' campaign – and has written an open letter to his 10-year-old self, asking him to hold onto his hopes and dreams.
"I encourage you to dream, because sometimes dreams are all you will have. I encourage you to lay your head on the pillow and close your eyes tight and think of better days to come, because luckily for us, our dreams have come true. Would I be the Marcus Rashford you see stood in front of you today if it wasn’t for the hardship and struggle? Simple answer? No. You should never be ashamed to ask for help. Take pride in knowing that your struggle will play the biggest role in your purpose. Never drop your head in shame."
This new initiative will involve Burberry teaming up with various charities across the UK and around the world.
These include; in London, Burberry will work with London Youth, which supports a network of over 600 community youth organisations and creates thousands of engaging opportunities for young people each year, in Manchester, Burberry is supporting Norbrook Youth Club and Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre, which are both youth centres that played a pivotal role in Rashford’s childhood, the house will contribute to Wide Rainbow, a non-profit based in New York City providing access to the arts and arts education in neighbourhoods across the United States with little to no resources.
To further the international reach of this work, Burberry is partnering with the International Youth Foundation to contribute to the Global Youth Resiliency Fund. This will enable young entrepreneurs and community leaders, especially in Asia, to develop solutions to challenges including closing nutrition gaps and unlocking access to livelihoods.
As well as this, Burberry has continued to provide donations to FareShare in an effort to help with Rashford's campaign to end child food poverty. It will fund over 200,000 meals distributed across 11,000 charities and community groups across the UK.
"Supporting communities has long been a part of what Burberry stands for, from our founder Thomas Burberry’s philanthropic efforts, to our current commitments that are making a positive impact on thousands of lives around the world," Pam Batty, vice president of corporate responsibility at Burberry said. "This year has substantially impacted young people, and we wanted to mark this festive season by giving back to the incredible youth centres and charities making a life-changing difference through providing safe spaces and vital support. These organisations are at the heart of so many young people’s lives, and we believe, especially now, it is so important to help them empower the emerging change-makers of tomorrow and continue their efforts to sustain and protect the vulnerable while working towards a better future."
To further this initiative, Burberry has also launched a new campaign to celebrate the voices of tomorrow, which stars Rashford, as well as other figures from fashion, dance and sport. The campaign aims to celebrate community, while being inspired by the youth of today.
"This campaign is about looking forwards, looking to the future – inspired by youth, it brings together a community of different talents and worlds as one," Riccardo Tisci, chief creative officer of Burberry said. "United by passion, commitment and love, this campaign is a celebration of their dreams, of exploring and of always going beyond."
"I’m honoured that Burberry can partner with Marcus Rashford and amazing organisations around the world to give back to the next generation, allowing them to explore their dreams. And I wanted to take that concept – of exploring beyond – to express a real sense of freedom in the campaign. It’s all about that fearless spirit and imagination when pushing boundaries, something that we hold so close to our hearts at Burberry."
You can read more about the inspiring campaign between Rashford and Burberry – and can read Rashford's letter in full – here.
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