Not all footballers are greedy and selfish...

[Morse]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6302665.stm

Good fella...

[tomasjj]

Great to see such things.
Good man.

I am sure there are others doing similar things and not wanting the publicity too.

[spud_gun]

Stories like that reaffirm my hope in mankind.

Top bloke

[Neil Young]

Great to see such things.
Good man.

I am sure there are others doing similar things and not wanting the publicity too.

Did you see the story this week that Scott Minto gives up one day a week to act as an unpaid driver ferrying people to and from hospital?

[Owen20]

[andyinswinton]

Did you see the story this week that Scott Minto gives up one day a week to act as an unpaid driver ferrying people to and from hospital?

Is Scott Minto still playing?

Its good to see footballers doing things like this.

[Resu]

Players that comes from poverty does thinks like this all the time, players from rich western countries less so.
But is it only a footballer thing? I`ll bet most of us here could do more to help people that need it, I know I could.






I`ll better stop now before the wine really kicks in.

[Neil Young]

Is Scott Minto still playing?

Its good to see footballers doing things like this.

He retired last summer and took up sports journalism. I saw him on Sky Sports in the week doing some punditry work. I can't find the story though but I really don't think I imagined it.

[Red Chilli]

He retired last summer and took up sports journalism. I saw him on Sky Sports in the week doing some punditry work. I can't find the story though but I really don't think I imagined it.

Wasn't Minto involved in some seedy illegal activity when he was in the premiership?

[Joey Jones]

He retired last summer and took up sports journalism. I saw him on Sky Sports in the week doing some punditry work. I can't find the story though but I really don't think I imagined it.

I saw this story somewhere as well. I'm sure it was in one of the papers. Unfortunately I saw the headline but didn’t read the story. Fair play to him.

So you’re not imagining it.

[Joey Jones]

He retired last summer and took up sports journalism. I saw him on Sky Sports in the week doing some punditry work. I can't find the story though but I really don't think I imagined it.

Found the story:

DRIVING runs with the ball at his feet used to be the norm for Scott Minto...but now he's doing driving of a very different kind.

Minto (35), who played for Chelsea, West Ham and Benfica as well as Rotherham United and once commanded a £1 million transfer fee, is now giving his services to Rotherham Hospice free of charge.

He has joined a team of more than 30 volunteer drivers who help transport patients to and from the hospice's day centre.

Injury forced Scott to retire from football at the end of last season after two seasons with Rotherham United.

He plans to return to his home city of London with his wife Diana, in the summer, to pursue a career in the media in the summer. Until then he is committing a day a week to the hospice.

Scott said: "I had hoped that I had a few seasons of football left in me but it wasn't to be. "Before I move back to London I was really eager to do charity work—it's great to be able to take time to put something back.

"Every club I've been to has had links with the community and Rotherham were no different—that's when I first became aware of the hospice.
"Now I drive one day a week and it's already proving an amazing experience."

[Neil Young]

I saw this story somewhere as well. I'm sure it was in one of the papers. Unfortunately I saw the headline but didn’t read the story. Fair play to him.

So you’re not imagining it.

Thank f**k for that! (I dreamt recently that we'd sold Kuyt for £15m. I was starting to worry that I'd had another dream and thought it was real! As if dreaming about Kuyt wasn't bad enough.)

Cheers. What paper did you find it in?

[Joey Jones]

Thank f**k for that! (I dreamt recently that we'd sold Kuyt for £15m. I was starting to worry that I'd had another dream and thought it was real! As if dreaming about Kuyt wasn't bad enough.)

Cheers. What paper did you find it in?

I can't remember what paper it was in, I'm sure I just picked up a paper at work and saw the story. I got the story from the previous post from the Rotherham Advertiser though.(First time I've ever visited their webiste. )

[Howard_lfc]

Anyone remember De Rossi from Roma? He told the club that he didn't deserve high wages as he was a simple working man. The club agreed to this and then gave the rest of his wages to charity. It was something along those lines anyway.
(he played against us in 2001 and was sent off in the game at Anfield).

[Diego]

we have one like that in our squad and his name is dirk kuyt

KUYT: WHY I’M ’FATHER’ TO YOUNG AIDS ORPHANS
Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo

Dirk Kuyt has never been to Nepal. But in a newly built house in a small village in the country which lies at the foot of the Himalayas there are eight young AIDS sufferers who call the Liverpool star 'father'.
Tony Barrett


Although they have never met him, the eight orphans have been given a new chance in life thanks to the generosity of Kuyt and his wife, Gertrude.

In an age when so many top footballers live up to the stereotype of flash over-indulgence bordering on the obscene, the 26-year-old is bucking the trend, displaying an attitude which could easily be described as philanthropic.

Twelve months ago, Kuyt set up the Dirk Kuyt Foundation, a charitable organisation which aims to improve the lives of some of the third world's poorest people in places like Nepal and Ghana, as well as in Holland's inner cities.

Since then, with the support of Gertrude, Kuyt's friend Gert Aandewiel and agent Rob Jansen, the foundation has gone from strength to strength and has been singled out for praise by UNICEF and politicians in his native Holland.

The player himself, though, is modest about his achievements. "It is good to try to help," he says.

"Footballers are fortunate because we are paid good money for doing something that we enjoy. I just think that when it is possible I should try to give something back because I am aware that not everyone is as fortunate as I am.

"Whenever the collectors came to my door looking for donations for charity I always gave money but I just felt that I could do something more, that maybe a footballer could help something happen in one year that might otherwise have taken five.

"A photographer I know told me about the children in Nepal and I wanted to help them straight away. From that point we went on to set up the foundation and it is going well.

"Basically, we funded the building of a house for the children in Nepal to live in and I become the "father" of the house and Gertrude is the "mother".

Unlike most charitable organisations, the funding for the foundation is not provided by collections from the public or various fundraising initiatives. The bulk of it comes from Kuyt's commercial activities.

He says: "I have a contract with Adidas and whenever I do commercials with them I give the money to the foundation.

"I also have a Dirk Kuyt clothing line on the Internet where people can buy t-shirts, caps and socks and all the money from this is also given to the foundation."

In Holland, the Dirk Kuyt Foundation has helped young people from places like Katwijk, the village where Kuyt himself grew up, get opportunities in education they may not have otherwise had.

"Education is very important," says Kuyt. "If I wasn't a good football player, I would have given everything to studying. Katwijk is a fishing village but there is a lot of unemployment there so the foundation tries to help children who want to go to university or college by giving them scholarships.

"I don't see what I'm doing as special. It is just about giving something back."

Since moving to Liverpool last August, Kuyt has fallen in love with his adopted home. So much so that he has already held talks with Liverpool chiefs about extending the work of the foundation to the Merseyside area.

"I have spoken to the club," he says, "and hopefully we can do something. I love Liverpool already. Everyone has been so helpful and friendly to us - I don't think there are many places like this.

"I am hoping to be here for many years. Gertrude and myself already have one daughter, Noelle, she is two and she is going to nursery in Liverpool.

"Gertrude is also 23 weeks pregnant so we are looking forward to having a proper baby Scouser. It will be good to have someone who can tell me what Carra is saying to me!"

At the moment, the Kuyt household in South Liverpool is playing host to Dirk's father, Gerrit, who came over to see his son shortly before Christmas.

It is a visit which until relatively recently seemed it would be unlikely to happen as Gerrit Kuyt has been battling stomach cancer.

But in recent weeks his condition has improved markedly following a major operation to remove part of his stomach and his oesophagus.

"It has been difficult but things are looking much better now," says Kuyt, who credits his father with being the driving force behind his career.

"He is doing well and at the moment he is clear of cancer. He goes back to hospital at the end of the month and hopefully there will be more good news.

"He came over before Christmas and he has been to Liverpool's last five home games. It was great to have him over for Christmas because it was our first one in a new country and it was made even more special because we spent it with him."

With his father's health improving, his wife expecting their second child and the goals continuing to flow for Liverpool, life could hardly be better for Dirk Kuyt.

Now all he wants is for others to share in his own good fortune.