The Telegraph’s Coronavirus Appeal launched in partnership with national charity Turn2us.
Thanks to the generosity of readers, the news brand’s appeal has raised an incredible £1 million.
Launched on 26 March, the charity Turn2us distributes grants to people facing serious financial difficulties and provides a wealth of practical information and support online. The charity has set up a grant fund to help people affected by the coronavirus crisis and have already been able to provide 802 emergency grants, totalling £401,000, in the last two weeks thanks to the funds raised through the Telegraph appeal.
Thomas Lawson, chief executive of Turn2us commented: “Coronavirus has brought into sharp focus how fragile life can be and reminds us that unforeseen life-changing events can bring us to our knees financially. Before the lockdown there were already 14 million of us in this country living in poverty; and because of this pandemic there’s likely to be millions more.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Telegraph for its ongoing support; allowing us to bring immediate relief to people in financial crisis. Thanks to the enormous generosity of its readers, we have already been able to provide 802 emergency grants, totalling £401,000, in the last two weeks. Some of these were paid out in a matter of just hours. In addition to this, we have been able to expand the capacity and opening times of our helpline – which has become an invaluable lifeline for people in desperate need of information about where they can find help to get by. It goes without saying that this work, and the speed in which we’ve been able to mobilise support, would not be possible without this appeal.”
The appeal has also had support from British comedian and author Tony Hawks who donated all proceeds from his new song Lockdown to the appeal. Tony who wrote and performs the song is joined in the video by a host of celebrities who were asked to film themselves in lockdown. The video can be viewed here and is available to purchase on iTunes and Spotify, with all proceeds going to the appeal.
