Denzel Washington has teamed up with Boys + Girls Clubs of America to raise money for the organisation.
Denzel Washington is raising money for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
The 63-year-old actor has teamed up with the organisation, which he used to be a part of as a child, to auction off a trip to the premiere of ‘The Equalizer 2’ in Los Angeles, California, in exchange for cash donations for the after school club.
Speaking to PEOPLE.com, he said: “The Boys & Girls Club helped make me the man that I am today. The staff at the Mt. Vernon Boys & Girls Club invested their time in developing me and that is why I have been the National spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than 20 years.”
The winner will be flown to Los Angeles, put up in a “swanky hotel” for two nights and receive two tickets to the premiere and after party where they can meet Denzel.
This isn’t the first time Denzel has tried to raise awareness of the organisation – which provides children with after school activities – as he recently penned a personal essay about his time in the club as a young boy.
He wrote: “I grew up in Mount Vernon, N.Y., about 30 miles from where Carlos grew up, across the Hudson, just north of the Bronx. Too many of my childhood friends had little structure or guidance. Some had run-ins with the law and ended up in prison. That could have been me. But, like Carlos, I was lucky.
“My father was a Pentecostal preacher who taught me the importance of faith. My mother was a beautician who sacrificed to get me the best education possible. But I also had a local Boys & Girls Club with mentors who cared and gave me the confidence I needed to set higher goals than I might have.”