Andy Murray will donate £50 towards efforts to help child refugees and their families for every ace he scores until the end of this year.
The British tennis star is supporting the charity Unicef and their work with the thousands of children arriving in Europe as the refugee crisis escalates.
Unicef has also worked to provide food, water, sanitation, medicine and other basic needs for children still living in conflict zones such as Syria, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced by civil war and the threat of terrorism.
Murray said he felt compelled to help after seeing distressing images of families fleeing persecution in the Middle East in recent weeks. An image of the dead Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi highlighted the desperation of refugees left with no other choice but to make the perilous journey to Europe.
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He told Unicef: “Having seen the images broadcast on the news in recent weeks I felt I had to do something to help the millions of children and their families who have been forced to flee their homes and had their lives turned upside down.
The refugee crisis - in pictures
“I’ll get that little bit more satisfaction from each ace I hit knowing that it will be helping Unicef keep children safe. I'm also asking my fans across the world to join with me to and support Unicef’s vital work.”
Standard Life, one of Murray’s partners, along with the ATP and LTA will match Murray's donations pound for pound, meaning every ace will amount to a donation of £200 for Unicef.
A spokesperson for the charity told The Independent: “Andy has done a few things for us recently, such as videos for us which have had big fundraising asks attached to them. This specific campaign is inspired by press coverage he has seen of children caught up in the refugee crisis. He really wants to help.”
The public can also donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/AndysAces. Those in the UK can donate £5 by texting ACE to 70800.
