Photo by Action Photographic

By Steve Jancetic AAP Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:23:08

We've had the Benji flick and the Benji step - but now there's also the Benji Marshall Foundation.

On the same day he was announced as an ambassador for the Oncology Children's Foundation - which is dedicated to finding cures for childhood cancers - Wests Tigers superstar Marshall revealed he would set up his own program to raise funds for the cause.

Being brought in as the face for charity was an easy decision for Marshall to make, having seen the effects of cancer from close range.

"Cancer's really done a lot of damage to my family, I've lost a lot of family members - my grandmother, a couple of aunties, a cousin and I've seen it go through a lot of kids," Marshall said.

"I suppose you can handle it when it goes through someone a bit older but when you see it touch kids, they don't get their chance to live their life and do what they love for a living like I am, it's even more sad.

"Meeting a lot of these young kids has brought things back into perspective in terms that we get to do what we love for a living and sometimes we think we're doing it tough."