‘Incredibly proud’ Ellis Genge opens up on fundraising efforts for the Genge Fund
England prop Ellis Genge at a fundraising event for his charity 'The Genge Fund'
In the world of Ellis Genge, talk is cheap. Always has been. You say something, you better be ready to back it up.
It was that way growing up on the council estate in south Bristol, and nothing has changed as a front-row forward for his hometown Bears and England.
So when the prop revealed to Planet Rugby in November he was setting up a foundation dedicated to providing equal opportunities to children in sport and education in Bristol, he knew he needed to back it up with action pretty sharpish.
“Everyone talks about dreams and goals,” he said at the time. “It’s about people going outside of their comfort zone to actually implement a plan.”
In other words, talking the talk means nothing unless you walk the walk.
Which is why the satisfaction he feels today is not due purely to England getting the better of France at the weekend and giving their season a desperately needed kiss of life.
He has just received confirmation that the first function staged by the Genge Fund, a gala dinner at Ashton Gate in December, raised £22,000 to support five youth charities in the city.
“We are incredibly proud to have raised £22,000 for these fantastic organisations,” said the England vice-captain, who turns 30 on Sunday.
“These donations will make a real difference in the lives of young people in Bristol, providing them with opportunities to thrive through sport, education, and wellbeing initiatives.”
Young Bristol, Youth Moves, Grassroots Communities, Lansdowne School and the Bristol Bears Foundation will each receive £4,000 with the remainder ploughed into community activities.
“What you’ve got in Gengey is a force of nature on the field when he’s at his best, and someone with a big heart,” says former England prop David Flatman, who hosted the evening. “Someone who, for a relatively young man, is incredibly socially and self aware.
“You can’t underestimate the impact of somebody, in the middle of an incredible career at the very top level of global sport, doing something to help people in need in his home city.
“Somebody who has not had the facilities, the privilege, the luck that a lot of us were born with who made careers in a similar world. Yet is putting himself out there at a time when he’s at his most busy and most focused.
“I salute him, and I personally will do all I can to help the Genge Fund. I’ve told Gengey that whenever he needs anyone to tell some awful jokes or ruin an auction or wear chinos that are a little bit too tight, I can do that.
“And I’ll happily do that for him because I think he’s doing something fantastic.”
Next up for Genge is Scotland on Saturday week and an opportunity for England, on his 69th cap, to win the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham for the first time since 2017.
