Star athletes are seen and loved as potent role models who are in a suitable position for raising funds and awareness for great causes. The Swiss Champion is one of the most exciting examples of being an athlete who uses his personal qualities and status to reciprocate the love people shower him with.
What does Roger Federer Foundation do?
The Swiss Maestro, in a recent interview, disclosed his inspiration for the Foundation that helps Africa’s disadvantaged children. He says, “I want to be one of the guys who helped grow the game. It was a joy to watch that made people happy, that gave interesting interviews if you like because we do too much press, we have to do a lot of press so for me it’s about connecting to the people, and if they remember me for that, that’s great.”
Roger’s Philanthropic work kicked off in the year 2003 with the Roger Federer Foundation. On being asked about why he began his philanthropic work, he revealed that his mother Lynette had a prodigious impact on him. He said: “what got me going 15 years ago is going to South Africa on vacation like a little boy with my mum, who is from South Africa.” Later, he further added: “She was born in Johannesburg, the values that she taught my dad and me. When I got into tennis and was finally able to make some money and make a name for myself, you feel fortunate and how do you share that feeling with other people.
Federer admitted saying that “And I just thought education is something that interests me. I thought let me get stuck into early childhood education, and here we are so it is fascinating.”
The Foundation of Federer has a specific goal: it grants education access to Switzerland’s disadvantaged children and most impoverished communities of Africa. Funding comes from Federer’s sponsors Mercedez Benz, Wilson, Nike, and Rolex, mainly. However, he brokered numerous deals of sponsorship in which he puts philanthropy over every other deal. Moreover, the proceeds from most of his matches reach as a contribution to the Foundation. Till date, it has supported millions of children and continues to do so zealously.
