Marcus Rashford's appeal for summer free school meals turned down by PM Boris Johnson

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has been involved in various philanthropic activities amid the coronavirus lockdown. The England international had recently appealed to UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to abolish the free school meals system directed towards low-income families over the summer holiday period. However, Boris Johnson has turned down Rashford’s appeal.

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Boris Johnson turns down Marcus Rashford's plea, Man United star to fight back

Despite the setback from Boris Johnson, Marcus Rashford has vowed not to give up on the matter. The 22-year-old tweeted on Monday saying that they were yet to be beaten. The Man United star urged his fans to stand strong for the 200,000 children who were deprived of a meal today, while also requesting them to continue retweeting #maketheUTurn. The Twitter campaign was targeted to pressurise the government to give in to his demands.

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Marcus Rashford launches #maketheUTurn initiative

Marcus Rashford tweeted a few hours later again, apart from addressing an open letter to all the MPs. He couldn’t comprehend the massive support that he received for his earlier tweet, thanking his fans for the same. He urged his followers not to give up easily and continue with the tweet campaign and also tag the local Member of Parliaments (MP) in an attempt to gain support. The Man United striker asserted that he expects his fans to turn up collectively as the voice for the meal-deprived children in the country.

The national voucher scheme was introduced in March this year. The scheme is directed at helping poor families to feed their children while the schools were closed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. The government had recently announced that it would be discontinuing with the scheme, which received stark criticism from several quarters.

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Marcus Rashford helps NGO

This is not the first time that Marcus Rashford has come out in support of the deprived sections of society. The 22-year-old is already involved with FareShare UK, a charity that is working to provide two million meals a week to children belonging to the vulnerable group. The Man United striker played a pivotal role for the charity with his help in raising funds for the NGO's target of £20 million ($25 million).

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Image courtesy: AP