Sir Rod Stewart has opened up about renting a home for a family of seven Ukrainian refugees.
He says he is using his “power” as a knight to help others.
The singer admitted he usually keeps “all my charitable efforts nice and quiet,” but hopes that by making the news public, he might inspire others to help.
Stewart has given support to Ukrainian couple Rostylsav and Olena along with their five children by paying rent and bills for the Berkshire property for at least a year, according to The Mirror.
Sir Rod said the family, who didn’t speak any English on arrival to the UK, are “lovely… so polite” and “all very grateful”.
“It just makes me want to do more. I am thinking of getting another house now and getting a lot more people over,” he told The Mirror.
“I usually keep all my charitable efforts nice and quiet and just do it. But I thought, ‘I am a knight, I have been given this knighthood because of the things I’ve achieved in my life and the charity work I’ve done over the years.’
“But that was the past; I want to be seen to be doing something now. I am a knight, I should be using my power to do something for people.
“I am sure that if there are people out there who see what I am doing, they will pick up some slack too.”
Sir Rod and his wife Penny Lancaster were inspired to act after they saw the events of the ongoing war in Ukraine unfold on the news.
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Stewart also helped by sending three trucks full of supplies for refugees over to Ukraine and he also used the hired vehicles to transport 16 people back to safety in Berlin.
He was later put in contact with Rostyslav and his family plus others who he has given jobs to.
Sir Rod is embarking on a UK tour in November where he’ll perform at arenas in Nottingham, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Belfast, London, Birmingham and Manchester.
He plans to address the conflict in Ukraine at his shows, dedicating them to the country and its people, he told The Mirror.
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