Joe Cole has admitted being a teacher to his kids is ‘tough’ as he learns to homeschool them during the coronavirus lockdown.
The former England and Chelsea star, 38, urged the country to get behind our NHS staff who are working tirelessly to treat those who have contracted the virus, after donating £25,000 to fundraiser Heroes this week.
Now the father-of-three, who has attempted to keep his children entertained by playing football with them in the garden, has called on local businesses to volunteer their services to support medical staff in need.
‘Challenging’: Joe Cole has admitted being a teacher to his kids is ‘tough’ as he learns to homeschool them during the lockdown (pictured with his now ten-year-old daughter Ruby)
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Joe, who’s a dad to daughter Ruby, ten, and sons Harrison, seven, and Max, four, said: ‘I’ve been outside in the garden with the kids most of the time.
‘Having time with family can be beautiful. But I’ve found the education side of it tough. Props to the teachers because it’s real tough.
‘Trying to get your own kids to sit down and do their work – three different levels, one kid is four who’s learning to write his name and letters and counting.
‘The 10-year-old, she’s really bright so it’s hard for me to get my head around. It’s been challenging. But I’ve loved spending as much time with the kids as I can.’
‘We support the NHS’: The former England and Chelsea star has urged the country to get behind our healthcare staff after donating £25,000 to fundraiser Heroes this week
Joe, who’s become an ambassador for Heroes that was founded by healthcare workers, explained that his involvement with the initiative started after him and wife Carly looked for ways to help those struggling with resources on the front line.
He said: ‘Well it’s all happened organically from friends and family at our children’s school, it was an initiative started by nurses and doctors on the front line and its gathered momentum from there.
‘Carly and I were looking for ways to help for weeks and weeks, we really wanted to get to the crux of it.
‘I wanted to put in our donation, Carly and I put £25,000 in straight away and then we engaged our contacts through my football career and in the industry and the reception we’ve had is unbelievable.
Helping hand: Joe, who’s become an ambassador for Heroes that was founded by medical workers, called on his contacts from his football career to donate (pictured playing for Chelsea in 2009)
Nutrition: Medical staff at Guy’s Hospital in London were provided with hot soup to help them get through their busy days as a result of the Heroes initiative
‘It’s north of 75K now that has been raised in three or four days.
‘Some of the things we have done, for instance, a friend of mine Tom Sellers, who’s a Michelin starred chef and owner of restaurant Story, he engaged and we sent some meals to Guy’s hospital today.
‘Estée Lauder has donated 500 masks and we’ve been able to pass that on.
‘We want Heroes to be a place you can go through and we can connect you with things, whether it is monetary – but we are looking to turn the money into something tangible.
‘We want this to be a vehicle that people can go through, so direct message the Instagram and however small it is we can put it to good use.’
The Londoner, who played for Chelsea and West Ham in his career, said: ‘There are so many good people working in the background and it does make you proud to be British.
‘We want NHS workers to know that we support them as a country.’
‘100 meals went to Guy’s Hospital’: Joe has reached out to London businesses, such as restaurant Story owned by chef Tom Sellers, to donate their services to the front line
Joe said his boys Harrison and Max have been missing football after the Premier League was postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.
He said: ‘Both the little boys have just been playing football in the garden.
‘Harry has been watching old Chelsea games, because he’s so obsessed with football.
‘He’s rinsed all the old games that are on Sky planner, he’s asked me about players I played with 15 years ago that even I had forgotten about!
‘Like many, many men and boys out there, he’s really missing football.’
- To join the effort or signup as a partner, visit: www.helpthemhelpus.com
- Discover more about Heroes on Instagram @helpthemhelpus_
Family man: The former footballer said him and model wife Carly (pictured with their daughter Ruby in 2011) wanted to help those in need on the front line