Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford received an honorary degree from The University of Manchester, in recognition of his achievements as a footballer and as a passionate campaigner against child poverty.
Rashford, 22, is the youngest ever recipient to receive an honorary doctorate, which is the highest accolade the university can award a person. He apparently, followed the footsteps of Manchester United legends, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton who were also honored sometime ago. Indeed is an honor and Rashford expressed his gratitude over it in a statement he made, announcing the award:
“It’s a proud day for myself and my family. When you look at the great names that have been awarded this doctorate in the past, it’s humbling. “We still have a long way to go in the fight to combat child poverty in this country but receiving recognition from your city means we are heading in the right direction and that means a lot. Thank you to The University of Manchester.”Rashford is dedicated to the cause and it has granted him front page of newspapers. He publicly shared on twitter, his personal experiences of using food banks which he addressed to members of Parliament, and it led to a change in government policy which now enables children to continue having free meals even during school holidays.
An Open Letter to all MPs in Parliament…#maketheUturn
Please retweet and tag your local MPs pic.twitter.com/GXuUxFJdcv
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) June 14, 2020
More so, his collaboration with Poverty and Food waste Charity, and FareShare, led to £20million being raised in financial and food donations and 3.9 million meals being distributed to the vulnerable every week during the COVID-19 crisis. The University of Manchester’s president and vice-chancellor, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, said: “Marcus is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary talent and drive that stretches well beyond the football field. “His work for charity and his high-profile campaign will not only help countless young people across our own city, but across the entire country. “Our university has social responsibility at its core and this sense of civic pride and duty is something we are proud to share with Marcus. That is why the university is delighted to make Marcus our youngest ever recipient of an honorary degree.” Rashford also received a special certificate from High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Eamonn O’Neal:
Wouldn’t normally share these types of things but this certificate is not just for me, it belongs to you all. Each and every one of you that has contributed the few £s you can, you’ve all made a huge difference (1) pic.twitter.com/tyTg3hOKze
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) May 25, 2020
