Wealthy footballers asking fans to donate and save a child's life

[Eastie77Returns]

A premier league footbal club in my area has posted pictures of a little boy who is very ill meeting players before a recent game. He urgently needs life saving treatment that costs hundreds of thousands of pounds. The pictures are lovely and he's clearly having an amazing time kudos to those players. The players and club have sent out an appeal to fans, asking everyone to urgently donate money for the child's treatment.

The players in the pictures earn millions a year. Hundreds of people have pointed out in the post comments that if each player in the team donated £10k, an amount they would barely notice, this precious boy would be able to get this treatment. The club itself posts revenue of millions each match day and could cover the cost without blinking. They've spent £100s of millions on new players ffs.

AIBU to not understand this. The manager of the team earns £10 million a year. He has children of his own. I don't understand how you'd sleep at night, leaving a child you've met to die when you have the means at the tip of your fingers to potentially save them? (and it could be done discretely as I understand the club wouldn't want everyone to know).

Let me guess hope for harley? It has so many holes to the story and doesn't make sense. Last week she was slagging the nhs off saying he was left without help and choking on food then posted a photo of fortisips prescribed to him before she even made that post. No doubt hes poorly but that mother is full of shit.

That’s how fundraising works. It’s tried and tested and a formula that achieves results worldwide. The players and team almost certainly have donated.

I do think its very crass for any celebrity to ask people to donate to causes they can easily cover.

As my Nanna would have said

it’s in very poor taste

Rich people don't stay rich by giving their own money away.

Tesco have this thing on their online shopping checkout page that annoys me. Something about can you spare a little?
No, but YOU bloody well could.

it always seem to be people who have the least, give the most.

It is very likely that the club, directors, manager, coaches & players have already made substantial donations. Unless you have reason to believe otherwise, OP?

Do you have any idea of the millions of children in the same situation? Or how much each individual player and club already donates? They can’t save them all. If this players status manages to pull off this appeal and saves this little boy, how is that a bad thing? The tough thing with celebrities donating is if they make it known how much they donate they get put down for it, if they don’t make it public it’s assumed they don’t donate at all

Stop telling other people how to spend their money. How do you know they don't give money away. Think it through.
They can't give to everything and neither would you?
They've already given the little boy some joy what have you done?

Tesco also put pressure on their own employees to donate to charities of their choice through various gimmicks

Nothing to do with OP.

Rich individuals can't be seen paying for treatments or they would be hounded so they do these appeals, the footballers might have privately donated but they can't just pay up front, or say they have put x amounts into the appeal.

This.

People who donate to charity don't ususally make it public knowledge, that kind of defeats the object.

A bit like members of the Royal Family being patrons of charities OP? No? Thought not.

I don't usually donate to causes sponsored by wealthy people. When their wealth is lower than mine I might think about donating.

I did say the club and players could donate the entire amount but not make it publicly known (I’m sure the child’s family would follow their wishes not to publicise) and so prevent everyone knowing.

I have donated, in answer to a previous PP asking.

My point is, time is running out for this child. In the time it might take thousands of people to donate enough, the club could put the family out of it’s misery in a day.

Surely you donate to causes that are important to you regardless of if a celebrity supports the same cause. Why would you not give because somebody with a profile also supports them?

And they will all be giving millions to charities and charitable causes every year. You are saying they should donate to one individual and sweep aside everyone else that asks, or long term causes that they support?

Frankly I don’t think they should be publicising appeals like this, as most of the time when you look into the details you find it’s a no-hope plan to drag a very sick child a long way from home to see a quack who is making money from families in desperation. So different approach but I agree with you on the end point.

That would surely be setting a precedent.
The "wealthy celebrity " will then be expected to stump up expensive treatment for every very sick child. Better they make a donation themselves and ask other to do the same

Where would you draw the line? Would you expect them to personally fund the treatment of every sick child they encounter?

Have you never heard of Bradley Lowery? The support he received from Sunderland and the wider football community helped raise enormous amounts of money and awareness for charity.

Footballers already donate considerable amounts of their time and money to worthy causes, and for all you know, some of these players may have made substantial private donations themselves.

But their influence is also hugely valuable. By raising awareness, they can encourage thousands of people to come together and support a child who desperately needs help.

I really don’t understand why you’d choose to be so cynical about people using their platform to do something good.

The “one individual” is a small child. But I’m sure their parents would appreciate your logic.

Where did I say anyone else should be swept aside or other charities should be abandoned?

I’m not cynical. I wrote ‘kudos to the players’ in my OP. The child looked very happy.

If footballers and clubs just paid themselves, they would get everyone who is sick asking for them to pay. No doubt, many of them will have donated but it’s better that they do it this way. You should think it through more OP.

The thing is there will always be another sick child, they can't give indefinitely to everyone

But you don't know this the family might say oh. the club sent him.for treatment out of excitement and gratitude! I don't know anything about this boys case,, but people can choose to donate or not can't they and if fans of the club want to it is up to them.