Marcus Rashford and the Premier League players making a difference

On Tuesday, Marcus Rashford successfully campaigned for 1.3 million children in England to claim free school meal vouchers this summer.

The Manchester United player had already raised £20m to supply meals to vulnerable people during the pandemic.

The positive reaction to what he's achieved is a refreshing change to how footballers are often portrayed - the selfish over-paid stereotype.

And Rashford, 22, isn't the only player using his platform for good in the Premier League.

Watford captain Troy Deeney is a legend amongst Hornets fans - not only did he help the team get promotion from the Championship five years ago, but is known for turning his life around to become one of their most prolific goal scorers.

The 31-year-old, who went to prison in 2012, started a charity to provide money to children with learning disabilities and lifelong illnesses.

The charity is currently raising funds to build a sports centre for a special education school near Deeney's home in Watford.

Not only is Sterling one of Manchester City's and England's biggest assets on the pitch, but off it too.

Last week he appeared on Newsnight to talk about racism in the UK and praised Black Lives Matter protests taking part across Britain.

Sterling, 25, is also well known for his charitable contributions - born and raised in Wembley, London, he paid for 500 pupils from his old school to attend the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Brighton at the stadium last year.

He also made a "substantial" undisclosed contribution to victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.

Golden Boot, Champions League and soon-to-be Premier League champion (if all goes to plan), Mo Salah is also known for his generosity.

His foundation helps 450 families in his home village of Basyoun in Egypt by giving them a monthly allowance.

He has also donated money to help young footballers over here too.

And who can forget the day when he visited 11-year-old Louis Fowler - a Liverpool fan who got so excited by seeing Salah drive out of the club's training ground that he ran straight into a lamppost. Seeing it all unfold, Mo drove back to take pictures with Louis… and his bleeding nose.

Rashford's United team mate Juan Mata doesn't just donate his own money - he's encouraged other top players to put their hands in their pockets too.

The Spanish midfielder set up Common Goal in 2017 where players and managers donate 1% of their earnings every month to football charities across the world.

The initiative has over 470 members, including Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Ballon D'Or winner Megan Rapinoe.

He might get a bit of stick from Arsenal fans for his contributions on the pitch this season, but Mesut Ozil's been busy helping while football's been paused during lockdown.

He donated £80,000 to Muslims in Turkey to help them through Ramadan amid the coronavirus crisis.

The money from the Germany international, who is of Turkish descent, helped provide food and aid to 16,000 people who were struggling.

And he's got an impressive track record - when Ozil got married last summer, he turned down gifts and instead paid for 1,000 kids to have life changing surgery.

Crystal Palace's WiIfred Zaha has been giving back to his native Ivory Coast since the start of his professional football career.

Zaha, 27, gives 10% of his wage each month to charities to help those less fortunate in the West African country.

It led to him picking up the Best of Africa Award for Philanthropic Endeavour last year.

The forward also helps fund an orphanage run by his sister Carine and closer to home, Wilf offered up accommodation to frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tottenham's captain Harry Kane is another striker who hasn't forgotten his roots.

He joined forces with League Two side Leyton Orient last month by sponsoring their shirts for next season and donating the space to three charitable causes.

The 26-year-old England skipper told the BBC he wanted to give back to his local club and say thank you to frontline NHS workers battling the coronavirus.

The O's will also give 10% of the proceeds from each replica shirt sold to the causes featured on the front.

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