Liverpool Echo: Kuyt's charity joy

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Dirk Kuyt is far removed from the stereotype of the modern day Premier League footballer.

For the past six years Liverpool FC have benefited from his tireless work ethic, professionalism and dedication to the cause which have helped maximise his natural talent.

And the selflessness Kuyt displays on the pitch is replicated off it.

The Dutchman may be living the dream, having made the remarkable journey from the small seaside town of Katwijk to grace both Champions League and World Cup finals, but he has never forgotten his roots.

Away from Anfield, his passion is the Dirk Kuyt Foundation, which has helped change the lives of children from as far afield as Holland, Brazil, Nepal and Ghana since it was launched in 2006.

"I've always appreciated what I've had in my life," Kuyt said.

"I've been very fortunate to be a football player. Football was and is a hobby for me. I never expected it to become my job.

"I'm in a great position and the least you can do as a football player is to give something back to the community and to the people who are always watching you.

"I just like to make people happy. And for me it's just a small thing. With my name in football I can reach a lot of people and together we can do something great for all these children."

Kuyt was at Feyenoord when the foundation was set up and initially it supported projects across the globe before the decision was taken to focus their efforts closer to home.

Now it specialises in providing sports sessions for disabled children across Holland with the motto 'fun is for everyone'.

"As a footballer you get asked to do a lot of things," Kuyt continued.

"You always want to help but sometimes it can be difficult to respond to everything. When I was at Feyenoord a friend said to me 'why don't you start your own foundation so you can reach a lot of people?'.

"I realised it would help me do even more charity work so six years ago we started the foundation with a few people from where I was born in Katwijk.

"My agency got involved as well and we started off with three projects - one in Brazil for street children, one in Nepal raising money to build a house for children with HIV and we also supported the UNICEF work in Ghana to build schools there.

"After two years we decided to make some changes as it was difficult for people to see what we were doing. We decided to support one thing rather than three different things in three different countries so everyone would know what the Dirk Kuyt Foundation stood for.

"We started to support disabled children, providing them with all different kinds of sports. We've been doing that for the past four years and it's been going really well.

"It has grown quickly and now we support around 64 projects across the country. There is not enough money for these children to do the things they like to do. We're able to give them the chance they deserve to play sports."

Kuyt's football commitments limits the opportunities he has to attend events but he takes great satisfaction from being kept up to date on the foundation's ongoing success.

"I try to be involved as much as I can but of course it's very difficult," he said.

"I can't always get to the events I want to be at. For example when the Premier League season ends in May, I've only got three or four days off before I join up with the national team to start preparations for the European Championships.

"I'm lucky that we have a great team behind the foundation with a lot of people working really hard.

"Last year for the first time we organised a charity dinner event in Holland and raised 175,000 Euros. The amount of money was unbelievable. That was a great thing and gave us the finance to make bigger steps. We're trying to organise another charity dinner event in the next couple of months.

"I have a lot of contact with the people who work for the foundation and I get sent a lot of emails and see a lot of photos.

"The best thing is when you open an email and see the smiles on the faces of all those children and their parents. That's why I do wanted to do it - to help people.

"It's one of the things which is very nice about being a footballer. It's better than things like driving a nice car. Not everyone can help these people but we have the privilege to do something."

Kuyt isn't alone at Anfield in his desire to make a difference. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher each have flourishing foundations which have helped transform the lives of many youngsters across Merseyside.

Daniel Agger recently launched his own foundation which supports a number of children's charities in Denmark, while Craig Bellamy and Glen Johnson spearhead similar initiatives.

"The great thing about being at Liverpool is that this club is really involved in doing charity work," Kuyt said.

"At Christmas we go to the hospitals and the club supports so many other community projects.

"A lot of the players do a lot of charity work. There's Stevie, Carra and Daniel doing something very good and there are others as well. It's great to see players doing their bit to give just a little bit back."

Kuyt is considering branching out his foundation to support children in Merseyside.

However, the experienced frontman is reluctant to accept the frequent offers of help from Liverpool fans until those plans are finalised.

"There are a lot of people in Liverpool and elsewhere in the UK I'd like to help," he said.

"But we have to be careful not to try to do too much. One thing I don't like is people giving money to the foundation or trying to help if we're not giving something back to their community.

"I would like to do something here but we need to think about how we are going to do it.

"It's a good idea to sit down with a few people in Liverpool to see where we can help and what we can do. Hopefully it will happen in the future."

Kuyt, who turns 32 in July, insists retirement remains a long way off. But when his boots are finally hung up, he intends to play a more hands-on role in ensuring his foundation goes from strength to strength.

"I love football and I want to play for as long as possible," he added. "I'm the type of person who will always stay involved in football but in what way I don't know. Coaching could be a possibility but I'm not 100 per cent sure in what direction I want to go.

"What I do know is that once my career has finished, the foundation work is something I want to do more of. I'll have more time to be closer to all those people who need our help."

Source: Liverpool Echo

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.