By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday, December 16, 2022
In March of 2022, Andy Murray announced that he would donate all of his prize money to UNICEF’s humanitarian response to children who had been affected by the war in Ukraine.
Many wins and $630,000 in prize money later, Murray has been awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award for the second time.
The 35-year-old penned a letter, which was published on the ATP’s website on Thursday.
“When Russia invaded Ukraine everyone was very worried about what it would mean,” wrote the former World No.1 and three-time major champion. “When all the images on the news showing what was happening to families began pouring in, it was devastating. Houses were bombed and families were displaced. Young children were affected by this, with many injured and in some cases dying. I wasn’t sure what I could do to help.”
Murray, the fourth player to win the award two times, along with Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, talked about his decision and the impact he hoped it to have.
“Shortly after I decided that from Indian Wells onwards, I would donate my prize money for the rest of the season to UNICEF’s humanitarian response – the final total was just over $630,000. It seemed like something that would give me some extra motivation this year. I thought I could also raise some awareness and hopefully get others involved in helping, too.”
Murray first received the Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2014, the year he became a UNICEF UK Ambassador for the first time.
“I’m in the fortunate position to try to make some sort of difference, so hopefully the money that’s been raised through UNICEF can help some of the children who have been affected,” he said, adding:
“I think in situations like these it is important to be empathetic and do what you can to help others. When I was younger, in my early 20s, I didn’t really think about anything else except my tennis. As you start to get older and maybe mature a little bit, you realise there are things that are more important than sport.” Murray was praised by UNICEF for his generosity and commitment to helping those in need.
Jon Sparkes OBE, Chief Executive at the UK Committee for UNICEF, issued a statement in praise of Murray’s efforts in Ukraine:
“We are hugely grateful to UNICEF UK Ambassador, Andy Murray, for generously donating this season’s prize money to UNICEF UK. The incredible donation will support UNICEF’s work responding to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which is having a devastating impact on the country’s 7.5 million children.”