Both England internationals will show their caring side at Sunday's game against Bolton.
Micah will wear a green and white wristband during the game as a sign of support for the `If U Care Share' campaign, a project which seeks to encourage young people to talk about their problems.
The group was set up by the brother and cousin of a 19-year-old who committed suicide without any hint of why he did so.
Their campaign is one that strikes a chord with Micah, whose childhood friend Daniel Nelson also took his own life. Nelson had played in the same local team as Richards.
"The If U Care Share campaign is one I fully support and I believe it will play a crucial role in promoting the issue of suicide in young people," he declared.
"It's an issue that I have personal experience with and. I hope that by wearing the If U Care Share wristband, I can help the project's cause. Hopefully, the project will go into schools and local communities to get young people to talk about any issues they're facing.
"I'm delighted to be involved. It is a privilege to wear the wristband and hopefully it will encourage people to find out more."
Also at the match Wright-Phillips' team of volunteers will be collecting as he continues his passion for helping underprivileged kids.
His charity `Education for the Children Foundation' helps some of the poorest children in Central America to get off the streets and into the classroom.
The project is based in a small town in Guatemala, where poverty is rife and the chance to go to school is normally only available to the rich.
"I'm coming into my third year of being involved with the charity. I've been out to Guatemala twice and I'm hoping to go back out again this year," he said.
Most of the children at the project are from a background of extreme poverty. They live in houses teetering on hillsides, with mud floors and corrugated iron walls. Many are undernourished. Without Shaun's project, they would have little or no hope of a better future.
"Probably the worst thing when you are out there is seeing the state of the children's homes. It's quite depressing to see. Last year we also started giving out water filters because most of the children don't have access to any clean water," he revealed.
Shaun's charity website address is www.eftc.org.uk where there are details of a competition in which the winner will meet the player after Sunday's match. Details of Micah's project are at www.Ifyoucareshare.co.uk Tweet
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Micah working for a greener Scotland? Who says he's got a huge ego? Well done lad.
It will be charlie big spuds Richards' last game in a blue shirt hopefully before villa ~(or anyone) takes him off our hands in summer.
Most overated bigheaded footballer ever.
This sort of thing is why everyone should hate the greedy, selfish, arrogant footballers: when are they gonna get in touch with the real world?
(All said in jest, obviously)
Makes you wonder why a person like Micah (for whom a lot of fans can't seem to resist following up his name with 'he loves himself - he's even got his own website!?!'), would want to bother himself with charity work seeing as he such a 'big time charlie'?
Can you tell my season ticket means I sit very near to one of these 'fans' and it winds me up quite a bit?
Nice to see Micah doing this!
Well done boys, lets hope some of the other footballers follow your lead. Time they put back something. Why do we have to mention anything other than well done, give them praise for doing something rather than nothing at all.
Whoah hang on a minute lads. Before we start handing out the OBE's and suggesting that Micah Richards does not have a big ego, we should notice that this story has wormed its way into the papers.
Many footballers do a lot of charity work. The fact that we have been alerted to Micah's philanthropic and goodhearted actions smacks of self publicity to me.
George Orwell-well said.Wasn't so long ago that Richards was bragging that he wasn't going to stop driving fast cars,wearing 60k diamond earings or living the highlife....He may play for city but the guy is a complete prat,oh...and a very poor footballer who has been found out and found wanting on many occasions over the last season or 2.Wish we would have sold him to chelsea when they came calling.
Love city but don't love clowns like Richards who care not for our club...Oh yes he was lording up Arsenal as well if my memory serves me correct.
Get rid now
so this is the same Micah that everyone's calling a player, only interested in bling!!! take a closer look...this is a KID who's taking time out to support a charity close to his heart. how many people on this forum have lost someone to suicide, it's a huge deal and will affect those closest for life. micah doesn't have to show his support to charities such as this one...he does so because it matters. what young lad of his age these days doesn't wear an ear ring or daft clothes or listen to hip hop or if they have the money, drive fast cars etc etc etc??? it's not his fault he's earning big bucks, it's football's fault for paying astronomical wages to young lads. my choice would be to have a tiered structure which permits certain levels of income for under 18's / under 21's (uncapped) & then higher levels for over 21's / over 21's (capped) / squad players / 1st team regulars / international 1st team regulars. this won't happen of-course because the agents wouldn't get their cut. to the guy who said that micah sought out publicity by promoting this article...does the same apply to SWP then??? no, is the answer, it's just a positive story about two bright stars at our club 9amongst others no doubt). get a grip all of you who slate your own and start appreciating the fact that football is a game where young lads get paid mega money and are often given bad advice. when you do read something positive, treat it as just that, the world's full of negativity and it's just nice to hear young lads putting something back. good on ya Micah & SWP and all those others who share their time and wealth to make less fortunate people smile.
George Orwell, Broadway, Moston 22/05/2009 at 11:02 & st helens blue(exiled), 22/05/2009 at 11:38
How cynical are you two? The guy is 20 years old. He might have a big head on his shoulders and admittedly he hasn't had the best season but he's still a kid for christ's sake. He earns a lot more money than you two because he is better than you. Deal with it.
Anyone who says he's got no chance of making it to the top on the back of one difficult season is way too fickle.
The lording up arsenal comment is way old - he supported them growing up - how dare he!? Our player of the season supported the scum across the road when he was younger you know...
I see Micahs new relationship with spin doctor Max Clifford is already showing benefits in positive press.
It is just a shame that wearing a wristband is the article leader against the long-term, quiet, hardworking initiative Shaun has shown taking time out helping the children in Guatemala.
St Helens Blue
Good point which is similar to that of my own. He is a prat.
Well done Micah and Shaun. It's great to see two players doing something good for their respective causes. To those accusing Micah of self-publicity, it works both ways in that If u care share gets some great coverage - he would be no use to them if it wasn't mentioned anywhere. Instead of constantly finding faults with someone (less we forget that he is still only 20), maybe we should support him for using some of his time in such a way.
Ekuldot,
Since in your post you refer to 'the guy who said Micah sort out publicity' and that is me I feel compelled to respond.
I dont doubt that Micah has done this with good intentions in mind and he will derive some sort of altruistic joy from his actions. Instead, my cynicism is more aimed at how this story has been promoted and ended up in newspaper.
Although I admit that his main motivation may not have been to promote himself, is it just mere coincidence that in a period of his career when he is criticised for his bling culture he gets photographed doing something charitable?
Why this good deed could not be done quietly is beyond me.
Richards is just carrying on all the charity he's shown opposition wingers all season.
george orwell - is it me or is the picture in the article actually SWP NOT Micah??? There have been many stories over the past few years of Micah / SWP & others (& others at many football clubs) doing good work for charity. It's as simple as that - it's a good vibe story and perhaps we should have more of them, instead of all the negativity from "fans". Again i must repeat, the players don't decide how much they earn, it's the agents and the club. I may in part agree that most players are over paid and that there are but a few players who you could call a "one club" player - i may also agree that Micah has had a shaky season to say the least (for various reasons). However, unless you or i actually know the boy, it's unfair to attach negative labels to him, especially when he's doing good outside of football. St helen's refers to Micah as a very poor footballer...is this why he was one of the youngest ever English players capped for his country, is this why he was touted as a target for the top four only a year ago??? He has had a bad season, the sign of a good pro is that he will come back stronger for the experience, so maybe save your opinions until the end of next season. He's young and will mature...i'd be honest enough to say i was a bit cocky at his age but without his money or fame...we don't all conform to a set pattern of behaviour and nor do footballers...we're all individuals (well, some of us) and yes we're entitled to differences of opinion but i believe that to slate a young boy for doing charity work is way out of order. Who are you, infact, any of us to judge anyone. Micah will be a world class footballer by the time he reaches his prime and it's "fans" like you who may just drive him away from City. p.s - not every footballer supports the team he plays for, otherwise that would entail some ludicrous process of selection during transfers...so if Micah grew up supporting Arsenal, so what, he plays for City, full stop.
I would like to add my comments in the interests of "balance". I am the father of the young man who took his own life that resulted us in creating the Ifucareshare campaign.
Micah's involvement in our charity and subsequent publicity has always been at our request and with our full support.
I contacted Micah after watching his interview some time ago on Football Focus and how open & honest he was in discussing the loss of his friend.
We are deeply honoured that he has agreed to support our campaign.
Suicide and Mental Health issues are increasing dramatically, particularly amongst young men, and we feel the easiest method to reach our "target audience" is via the medium of football.
Publicity linked to this is invaluable to relay our message to as wide an audience as possible.
I also feel that in the current climate we are all too eager to point out people’s deficiencies, particularly when it comes to professional footballers, whilst not applying the same effort to positive experiences.
To those believing there are any ulterior motives for once remove your blinkers & listen to what's going on around you - I wish I'd done so some time ago
Can't some of you stop moaning about anything and everything? If it was an article about his poor performances this season, fine, but it isn't.
The whole idea of charities having a well known figurehead / patron is to raise awareness of the work the charities do. It would be a totally pointless effort if this did not lead to increased publicity for whatever cause. It is not the first time that Micah (and several others) has been shown doing charity work and it won't be the last. It really is pathetic to think this is soley a PR stunt on his behalf to improve his image after what has, admittedly, been a pretty ropey time in his career.
I would be surprised if any of our players (or any other Prem team's players) didn't have a charity they support in one way or another, and I'm fairly sure they will all get to talk about it in the Media at some stage.
Just give the whinging a rest!
George Orwell the reason this is not done "quietly" as you request is to raise the profile of the charity so they get more money!! Why would a charity get a famous celebrity to endorse their work to then say dont tell anybody!!
It's marketing good for the player and the charity. if you have ever run a marathon for charity would you refuse to tell people because you didnt the kudos? no you would tell everyone you knew so you got more sponsership!!!
oh my god some of you lot are unbelievable its a quiet news day! its not his fault he is in the papers lets not forget he didnt have to get involved..so maybe mr clifford wangled it but so what..ok hes had a bad season hopefully better next year..are you seriously thinking richards thought "i know what i will do get my pic in a paper doing some charity work and people willl think im a nice lad and a good footballer?he aint that thick is he ?
Not cynical-I'm just telling the truth.
I don't see all the cancer nurses from Christies,Clatterbridge going to a publicist to get what they do in the papers!!
This guy is a joke and I really don't like him.Everytime I enter the southstand and look up to see that huge poster of Richards overlooking the entrance...I really want to throw something at it.
Anything charitable is a good thing,but done by footballers such as richards,barton-thats laughable..!!!
Mr Smith, first thing to say is i'm truly sorry to hear of your loss. All the opinions regarding football on this forum suddenly seem far from important. Not that it's in any way similar but a good friend of mine took his life some time ago and such tragedies are hard to accept as a friend, so i can't imagine how a father like yourself would feel. Your point is the only point that matters here, that publicity is the only way of highlighting issues such as these. Too many youngsters are afraid to open up or have mental health issues that need care and attention and without people like Micah and many others i'm sure, much needed causes like yours would suffer. It's a shame that we live in such a cynical world. Once again i applaud you for sharing your views and putting a much needed persepctive forward.
St Helen's Blue...i do hope you've read a few of the previous posts. I almost didn't reply to yours but felt sorry for you, truly i did. There are many many people who do work for good causes that go without mention and may well never receive the praise they deserve but they do so selflessly. It so happens in this instance that the person in question is a premier league footballer and a high profile one at that. May i suggest you just think for a minute or two before writing semi abusive messages. If you don't like the boy, that's fair enough but i suggest you don't actually know him and to judge others is wrong.
Two words: Max Clifford.
ekuldot, 22/05/2009 at 13:24: Top class post.
Dean Smith 22/05/2009 at 13:40: If there are still people slating micah for his support for this charity then they need to keep re-reading your post until the message gets through.
st helens blue(exiled) and George Orwell take note and lay off the guy...