In the days leading up to his untimely death, Liam Payne was seen giving money to GoFundMe campaigns for sick children live on Snapchat.
The 31-year-old former One Direction member met a tragic end when he fell from the balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room on Wednesday night. Prior to this tragic event, Payne had been actively donating to the medical needs of youngsters in America.
The star, who shares his son Bear with former partner Cheryl Cole, expressed how parenthood has deepened his empathy towards sick children. He said in the days before his death: “As a father, it hits me differently. I would want everyone in the world helping. I have been spending the last few nights trying to finish off the donations so they can get the operations they need – they would be free in my country.
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He continued to say: “I can’t look at a sick child and not see Bear. I can’t and I won’t. I’m not asking for people to say well done or I’m amazing – I don’t give a f*** about what people think of me.
“What I care about is that that child gets to live the life it’s supposed to.”
The Mirror reports Payne had a history of making charitable donations, especially during Covid to the food bank charity, the Trussell Trust. The charity recognised him for his “compassion and kindness” after he made substantial donations to assist in feeding children across the country.
Liam had previously declared his support for The Trussell Trust, writing on Facebook in 2020: “Recently I made a personal, long-term commitment to support the The Trussell Trust and their vital work supplying meals to those in need all over the UK. It was humbling to get involved at my local food bank yesterday, and to meet some of the incredibly passionate people like Carla, Dorothea and Helena who are working tirelessly during these incredibly tough times. I’m glad to be playing my small part as we work towards a future in which nobody needs a food bank.”
Emma Revie, CEO of The Trussell Trust, paid tribute, saying: “We are extremely saddened by the news of Liam Payne’s death. Over the last four years, Liam was a generous supporter of Trussell and our community of food banks, not only funding the provision of more than 360,000 meals during Covid but also often joining us in calling for the solutions required to end the need for emergency food.
“We greatly appreciate the compassion and kindness he always showed to people facing hunger and hardship. His death is a very tragic loss, and our thoughts are with his loved ones.”