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AS GRIEVING FANS mourned the death of George Michael yesterday, charities began revealing the pop star’s generous donations to all kinds of causes.
The 53-year-old singer, who was found dead in his home by his partner yesterday, was best known for 1980s hits such as Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Freedom, Careless Whisper and Last Christmas.
But the celebrity that loved late night parties and had a few run-ins with the law has emerged as a patron for charities, and an all round good guy.
Here are some of the stories people have been sharing, starting with this story from commenter Mary Ryan, which was posted on TheJournal.ie article ‘A woman needed £15k for IVF. George Michael secretly phoned and gave her the money’.
“Back in the early 1990s I was working on Edgware Road in London near the Sony Studios. I came out of work to find my little 1974 Ford Fiesta had a flat tyre.
George Michael was coming out of Sony as I was standing there in the rain and helped me change my tyre… I’ve never forgot how kind he was. Sadly, I didn’t have the nerve to ask for his autograph.
Other stories that have been around are equally heartwarming:
For the homeless:
For the disabled:
Brenda Ellis / TwitterRIP George Michael pop royalty and humanitarian. The Platinum Trust run by his family helped so many disabled people.
— Brenda Ellis (@sapphitweet) December 26, 2016
For nurses:
Nursing Standard / Twitter
Nursing Standard / Twitter / Twitter
Hayley Campbell / Twitter
Hayley Campbell / Twitter / Twitter
Source: Shutterstock/ Slavko Sereda
Michael has also given millions of pounds to charities involved with helping children, cancer victims and AIDS sufferers.
Among the groups he supported were the Terrence Higgins Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Childline, which offers confidential phone counseling for young people.
David Walliams / Twitter
David Walliams / Twitter / Twitter
For children
Childline founder Esther Rantzen said Michael gave royalties from his 1996 hit "Jesus To A Child" to the charity along with many other donations.
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 hundreds of thousands of children he helped.
She said Michael was determined that no one outside the charity should know "how much he gave to the nation's most vulnerable children."
LoftforWords / TwitterChildhood memory - Help a London Child on Capital FM, George Michael always rang in at the end and personally pledged to double the total.
— LoftforWords (@LoftforWords) December 25, 2016
For people with HIV
He also donated a lot to the British HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust.
Michael had spoken publicly about the pain of losing a partner to AIDS early in the epidemic, but he kept his long history of donations to the Trust private.
In a Facebook post published yesterday, the charity said that the singer often gave donations "to raise vital funds to help us support people living with HIV".
"Along with other charities, we were grateful to benefit from the royalties of George's 1991 duet with Elton John, Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me.
His donations contributed to a vision of a world where people living with HIV live healthy lives free from prejudice and discrimination.
Thanks to George's legacy, we are a step closer to that world and we are so grateful for his support and friendship over the years.
With reporting from AP and AFP
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He always came across as a genuinely nice man. A bit troubled but with a good heart.
He also had a sense of humour and could laugh at himself. The best kind of person in my book.
RIP George.
When he was alive, the media slatted him at every possibility. Now, even as he’s passed on, they just can’t help themselves. Shame they couldn’t have written something nice about him when he was alive.
He was well liked and extremely talented. You can’t say that about many “celebs”.. Saw an interview when he was released from hospital after being very ill. He was very emotional and also very thankful to those who saved him. He was kind enough to talk to the press that day even though they were so cruel to him
I never thought he was troubled. He lived as he wanted, he was not a saint, but an ordinary person who did extraordinary things. What he did in his private life was his business and no one else’s. The same as Prince. I’m just delighted I was on planet earth at the same time as these greats.
@Deborah Behan: well said
I notice RTE in their coverage of his life highlighted his turbulent private life but never once mentioned his Philanthropy. Another wonderful fail by our state propaganda machine
Seems like he was one of life’s genuine people. It took his death for his undeniable talent to finally achieve critical acclaim from his peers. RIP George.
Getting that Lady Di feeling
Maybe it’s just me. But if you came from nothing and you create a personal wealth of €140 million wouldn’t it be standard to give a lot of it away. Isn’t this the norm? People seem to be surprised by his generosity.
Plenty of people have amassed 10 times that and don’t give a washer away and the fact he did it on the quiet and didn’t want any recognition for it,I presume is what people find admirable about it
@Chief:
By it’s very nature, anonymous philanthropy will always go unrecognised and I genuinely think there are plenty of rich people donating money everyday who don’t want recognition, but today is for George and let’s think of him and his legacy.
Tw.t
Genius! Such brilliant use of the English language. You must be feeling really good coming up with a clever post.
Think he was talking to me Ger.
Spot on.
All I said was people seem to be surprised by his generosity. It’s pretty obvious throughout the years when he did do interviews you could easily tell he was that type of person. I should have worded my first comment better
Oops!
Ahhhhh sure he was great
have your say