Raheem Sterling Paying for Funeral of Former Crystal Palace Youth Player Damary Dawkins

Damary Dawkins, 13, died in March due to lymphoblastic leukemia.

Manchester City star Raheem Sterling will cover the costs of the funeral for former Crystal Palace youth player Damary Dawkins, according to the BBC.

Sterling had previously supported the 13-year-old Dawkins's campaign for a stem cell donor to help battle his lymphoblastic leukemia. Dawkins received a transplant shortly before Christmas, but he relapsed in February and died in March.

When England took on the Czech Republic not long after Dawkins's death, Sterling honored Dawkins with a T-shirt that featured a picture of the two of them together and the words, "May your soul rest in peace."

"Damary was a special young man who touched a lot of lives, including my own," Sterling said according to the BBC.

The funeral is planned for Friday.