Amazing kindness.. in secret
GEORGE gave many millions to good causes and the needy, but he often kept quiet about his kindness.
He donated song royalties to good causes and supported dozens of charities. And most touchingly, he gave thousands of pounds at a time to total strangers who needed someone’s help.
George volunteered at a homeless shelter – swearing the staff to secrecy. A fellow worker said: “He asked us not to tell anyone. That was who he was.”
After a contestant on TV’s Deal or No Deal revealed she needed £15,000 for IVF treatment, George phoned the next day and gave her the money.
George once heard a woman in a cafe crying because she was deep in debt. He wrote a cheque for £25,000, handed it to a waitress to give to her, then left.
Another time, according to journalist Sali Hughes, George met a student nurse who was working as a barmaid because she was deep in debt. He gave her a £5000 tip.
George helped countless children through secret donations to Childline. Founder Dame Esther Rantzen said: “He was determined not to make his generosity public. He gave us millions.”
The star also gave massive donations to charity appeals on TV’s This Morning.
He sang on Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? which raised more than £19million for Ethiopian famine relief, and donated the royalties from Last Christmas/Everything She Wants to Ethiopia. The proceeds from Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me went to the London Lighthouse AIDS hospice and the Rainbow Trust children’s charity.
George supported the Terrence Higgins Trust for years after losing partner Anselmo Feleppa to AIDS, and backed a miners’ gala during the strike.
After mum Lesley died of cancer in 1997, George became a steadfast backer of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Ten years after Lesley died, he played a free concert for NHS nurses as a thank you for her care. He later gave nurses blocks of free seats at his shows.