Yuvraj Singh's charity initiatives: Who's benefitting?

Champions have always showcased their mettle in the oddest days of their life. Their mental state was a notch ahead of the commoners can be held with some athletes who are often deemed as a ‘special breed’. When it comes to being special, especially in the annals of Indian cricket, the name Yuvraj Singh often resonates louder among the fans, was born on December 12 (today), 1981.

However, Yuvraj was not special because of his abilities but for his never-back-down attitude. People got a glimpse of it when the famous visuals of the former England all rounder Andrew Flintoff, who tried to get in the skin of the Indian batter during the T20 World Cup 2007.

‘The crowd goes balle balle,’ echoed on the air in the familiar renowned voice of Ravi Shastri when Yuvraj took a liking for pacer Stuart Broad and started a six fest. As a result, he scripted history by becoming the first batter to have hit six sixes in a row in the T20 World Cup. However, Yuvraj was licking for something more. The wounds of the 2007 ODI World Cup were still not forgotten by Team India.

The 2011 edition of the ODI World Cup seemed an opportunity for every Indian player to do something special in their own backyard. Rising up to the occasion was none other than Yuvraj Singh, whose all round performances ensured India lifted the World Cup after 23 long years. But not many know that the southpaw was struggling with his health and even vomited blood in a game during the World Cup. But after basking in the world champion glory, the Chandigarh-born got a "bolt from the blue" in life, after he was diagnosed with Cancer after the World Cup.

The road to recovery from thereon, taught and made Yuvraj Singh experience the bare realities and difficulties of a cancer patient and its long-term impact on the families dealing with it. As a result, the 43-year-old decided to start his own foundation named, YouWeCan!

What struck the former India all rounder hard was how a young child had to cope with the pain of treatment and the process of Cancer recovery. In many cases, the kids living in rural or underprivileged areas were not able to receive monetary help to get rid of Cancer. Hence to cater to the needs of the young kids along the impacted families coupled with promoting education and sports to empower India’s youth, Yuvraj started this new journey and did some phenomenal philanthropic work.

"I’ve fought many battles in my life, both on and off the field. But no matter how hard the battle was, for me the biggest battle was cancer. And the only reason I won this battle is because of each one of you. Because of the love, prayers, good wishes and strength you showered me with," Yuvraj mentioned his visions on his foundation's website.

"This is the reason I started my foundation, to stand by other cancer patients in their time of need, just like each of you stood by me. To give them hope, courage & strength! Each time someone is diagnosed with cancer in India, I want to give them the message that: “You are not alone. I am with you. YouWeCan is with you. No matter how tough it gets, you must not give up. TOGETHER WE CAN & WILL fight cancer!” he further added.

As today marks Yuvraj Singh’s 43^rd birthday, let’s have a look at some of his top philanthropy works:

3. Financial support for Pediatric Cancer patients

Yuvraj Singh’s foundation has been actively working for the upliftment and treatment of young kids who have been fighting Cancer. Specifically, kids who come from unprivileged regions were helped by YouWeCan to overcome the financial burden which hampers the treatment of the feared disease, who are below 16 years of age.

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Hence, as per the CSR Universe, it was estimated that some kids were helped with generous aid of up to INR 3,00,000. More than 30 patients have been provided with financial assistance by Yuvraj’s foundation so far in this regard.