Wayne Rooney's foundation has made a £30,000 donation to fund the children's service Childline on Christmas Day.
The confidential helpline, found by Dame Esther Rantzen in 1986, provided nearly 140,000 counselling sessions between April and October.
Rooney's foundation has given £75,000 overall to Childline and the former England captain is also backing the NSPCC's Here for Children Christmas appeal.
The former England and Man United striker is currently Derby County's interim manager
Rooney said: 'It's very upsetting to know that there are children out there who are really suffering and might be dreading Christmas.