Denzel Washington raising money for The Boys & Girls Club, claims they "helped make me the man that I am today"
Denzel Washington has decided to give back to the charity that had helped him through his childhood. Partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Oscar-winner has decided to help the community by auctioning off a trip to the Los Angeles premiere of his latest film — The Equalizer 2 — in exchange for donations made to the charity.
Speaking to People magazine, Washington spilled how he himself was a part of the club and it played a significant role in his childhood. “The Boys & Girls Club helped make me the man that I am today,” shared the 63-year-old actor. “The staff at the Mt. Vernon Boys & Girls Club invested their time in developing me and that is why I have been the National Spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than 20 years.”
The winner of this auction is supposed to receive an all taken care of trip to LA. It would involve a two-night stay at a "swanky hotel," as per Washington, including two tickets to the premiere of his upcoming movie and an invite to the after party. There's also a special meet and greet opportunity with the actor included.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America happens to be a national organization, providing after-school programs and services for children across 4,300 chapters. It reportedly serves about serving 4.3 million kids.
Speaking about his time spent at the Boys & Girls Club, Washington has recently penned an essay for Essence. In it, he details his stay and involvement with the charity during his childhood as he grew up just north of Manhattan. The essay highlights the 2017 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth of the Year recipient Carlos Polanco, who has also been revealed to be passionate about the club.
“I grew up in Mount Vernon, N.Y., about 30 miles from where Carlos grew up, across the Hudson, just north of the Bronx,” Washington recounted in the essay. “Too many of my childhood friends had little structure or guidance. Some had run-ins with the law and ended up in prison. That could have been me.”
He continued, “But, like Carlos, I was lucky. My father was a Pentecostal preacher who taught me the importance of faith. My mother was a beautician who sacrificed to get me the best education possible. But I also had a local Boys & Girls Club with mentors who cared and gave me the confidence I needed to set higher goals than I might have.”
But Washington's philanthropy was out in the open not so long ago too when "This Is Us" star Susan Kelechi Watson had also shared how the actor had gifted her and her fellow Fine Arts classmates at the Howard University the money needed so they could live their chance of studying Shakespeare at Oxford University, London.
Susan shared on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” that a friend of hers had reached out to actress Phylicia Rashad who then organized to pay roughly $5,000 per student, with Washington.