Man Utd legend Nicky Butt delivers presents to children in Gorton as part of Foundation 92 campaign

Manchester United icon Nicky Butt was back in his hometown of Gorton today delivering Christmas presents to children most in need this holiday season.

The initiative is part of the annual December to Remember campaign by Salford FC’s Foundation 92, a charity backed by the Class of ‘92 footballers. The Foundation 92 team, together with Nicky and Santa, braved the wind and rain to surprise residents with gifts for children. This year, the initiative secured 1,000 presents and were hoping to deliver them all today to a total of 400 houses.

Nicky Butt told ManchesterWorld: “I was brought up in this part of the world and I’m really proud to come here and put a smile on people’s faces. It’s been a tough time for three years now, what with Covid, the heating crisis, the food crisis, bills are going sky-high and people just generally can’t afford to give the kids things that they want to, so it’s important that people like ourselves and the foundation.”

The football star pointed out that the Clarion Housing Association estate where Foundation 92 were visiting today is just a few hundred yards away from where his grandmother and father used to live.

He said: “I’ve always been treated very well here from a young age to when I was playing for Man Utd and England, I never had a problem. I walk into the local pubs and I’ve always got looked after.

“It’s really nice to give back now that I’m retired and a lot older and got kids of my own. It’s important to understand that some kids in this area don’t always have smiles on their faces - or I should say, they have smiles on their faces but they don’t always get what they want, get the nice things that other kids get.”

Salford-based Foundation 92 work all year round across Greater Manchester on projects that benefit a range of people, including young people, the unemployed and homeless, all with an emphasis on health and wellbeing. However, with the cost of living crisis taking its toll on most sectors of society, the December to Remember initiative has been particularly important this year.

In addition to the Christmas gift deliveries, Salford F.C. players were visiting the Salford Royal hospital today and the charity will also be providing 248 hours of free activities for children during the school holidays.

The charity’s head Tom Hutton said: “This is quite a special programme for us because we know the impact it makes, knocking on people’s doors, seeing them smile, spreading a bit of that Christmas cheer after a really tough 12 months. It’s really a special program for us as a charity.

“The past 12 months have been tough. We’ve gone through a pandemic, society’s reopened, there have been a lot of challenges of fragmentation within society, social isolation, and cost of living crisis compounded on top of that.”

Tom said that more and more people have been seeking support from the charity over the last few months, which has led them to expand the services they provided. They recently partnered with Open Money, a Manchester-based financial advice service, to help people with finance management and guidance.

He said: “Whenever there’s a pandemic or circumstances where society is facing acute, abject hardship, charities like ourselves step up. We’ve seen demand for our work increase significantly.

“We’ve had to be more agile and adapt to make sure we’re meeting the acute needs of the community.”