George Michael Quietly Donated Millions To Help Abused & Bullied Children

George Michael

As the world reels from the passing of pop music star George Michael, we learn he was even more generous in private than most knew.

Michael had secretly been giving millions to a charity that helped UK children who were the target of abuse and/or bullying.

Via The Irish Times:

Behind the headlines and huge on-stage persona, George Michael was a generous man who kept quiet about his considerable charitable donations, it has emerged. The star donated all the royalties from his 1996 number one single Jesus To A Child to charity, and is said to have given a gameshow contestant thousands of pounds to fund her IVF treatment.

Michael has helped countless children as a result of his donations to Childline, the charity’s founder and president Dame Esther Rantzen said. “For years now he has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist, giving money to Childline, but he was determined not to make his generosity public so no-one outside the charity knew how much he gave to the nation’s most vulnerable children,” she told the Press Association.

“Over the years he gave us millions and we were planning next year, as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations to create, we hoped, a big concert in tribute to him — to his artistry, to his wonderful musicality but also to thank him for the 100s of 1,000s of children he helped through supporting Childline.”

From Childline's official website:

Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. Whether it’s something big or small, our trained counsellors are here to support you.

Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. You can talk to us on the phone, by email or through 1-2-1 counsellor chat. Whatever feels best for you.

Our counsellors are trained staff and volunteers. All sorts of people become Childline counsellors. They could be 16 or 60. They could be gay or straight – or anywhere in between. They come from lots of different backgrounds and places.

What they all have in common is they want to help young people.

They're real people who want to support you with any issue you’re facing. They're trained but they don't follow a script.

(h/t JoeMyGod)