will.i.am donates £500k of 'Voice' UK salary to Prince's Trust
Published Jun 21 2012, 20:21 BST | By Tom Eames
will.i.am has donated £500,000 to the Prince's Trust.The Black Eyed Peas rapper explained that he has given most of his earnings from The Voice UK to the charity in order to give London children a new technology initiative.
© Chris Jackson/PA Wire/Press Association Images
He tweeted: "I gave the majority of the money I made on the voice to the @PrincesTrust to build a tech programme to get the kids from east LDN up to speed (sic)."
The producer explained that he wanted to donate the money after meeting founder Prince Charles, and hopes to improve the lives of disadvantaged children.
He met with the heir to the throne at Clarence House last month to discuss how his i.am.angel Foundation could be used in conjunction with the trust.
will.i.am said: "My donation to the trust will help these young people build skills that are vital in today's and tomorrow's job market, including technology and computer knowledge."
He added: "I grew up in east Los Angeles, one of the most under-served and tough neighbourhoods in America.
"My family made sure I understood that getting a good education and hard work were key to turning my dreams into reality and beating the odds that come with growing up in a disadvantaged situation.
"The Prince's Trust has a 36-year history of assisting disadvantaged youth, so I am pleased to be collaborating with an organisation that shares my mission to transform the lives of young people who need extra support and structure in their lives."
© WENN
The Trust's chief executive Martina Milburn said that the donation will go towards courses for young people to help get improve their lives. She added: "The Prince's Trust is a charity which depends on generous donations such as these.
"will.i.am is an inspiring character - we're excited about his vision of helping the most disadvantaged to improve their computer skills and we're incredibly grateful for the donation.
"It will make a huge difference to vulnerable young lives in the UK today."
will.i.am is currently working on his upcoming studio album #willpower.
Watch the music video for will.i.am's new single 'This Is Love' (out June 24) below:
What a horrible man .....no not will.i.am but Charles, horrible person he is, how can he even say he cares about ppl, this is the selfish brat who has someone just to squeeze his toothpaste for him and orders 7 boiled eggs of a morning just to pick the best one, he sent a jumbo jet half way around the world to pick up a pair of shoes, when thousands of ppl in this country are loosing their jobs and homes and some have nothing this horrible person pretends he cares, and lets not forget the millions of public money spent on security for his illegal wife, home that has nothing to do with royalty, disgusting.
June 23rd 2012 at 12:33pm
what a really nice thing to do. good on Will.i.am. He really comes across as a genuine nice guy. most celebs beg the public to donate their hard earned cash. yet he just donated his own. Pay it forward.
June 23rd 2012 at 12:31pm
what a nice fella
June 23rd 2012 at 11:12am
He is a lovely bloke you can just tell by the way he talks. Yes he might come across as a bit eccentric the way he goes on but you can just tell he is genuine.
June 23rd 2012 at 3:49am(+1 like)
You wouldn't do it Anonomously if you were famous because the Charity would ask for you do agree to go public because it allows them to leverage your fame to increase donations further and also raise awareness for both the charity and a particular scheme that your donation is helping.
Without will.i.am would you have known about this program that the Princes Trust are running, highly unlikely as it wouldn't have been posted on various websites like this one or printed in papers and broadcast on tv/radio.
June 23rd 2012 at 10:42am
`Beware of Strangers Bearing Gifts` The Trojans didn't heed the warning. Will`s gesture vwill get him masses of publicity in the US
June 22nd 2012 at 6:41pm(+2 likes)
What a ridiculous thing to say, he has already funded various organisations in the US, why would he donate to a UK charity for publicity? He's hardly lacking of work or money so why would he even need the publicity?
June 23rd 2012 at 2:30am
You obviously dont know how the publicity game works
June 23rd 2012 at 12:05pm