Public Tower of Support

16 June 2017 James Brooke

More than £2.8million donated for victims of London tower fire – the most JustGiving has ever raised across multiple campaigns for one emergency appeal.

Both the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund and the The Kensington Aldridge Academy appeal have now both exceeded £1million in donations.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in West London, JustGiving has announced that an incredible £2.8 million has now been raised on the platform to support the victims and their families making it the biggest and fastest growing emergency appeal ever in the site’s history.

Over 83,000 people have now contributed to the appeal, which includes donations and messages of support from across the country including the Royal family and even celebrities like Tom Hardy who has now set up his own JustGiving page.

The largest donation, to date, on the site for the incident is an anonymous donation of £100k and there are two donations of £10k (also both anonymous) followed by several £5k donations.

New Fundraising Records

The most JustGiving has ever raised for one emergency appeal (reaching £1 million in 10 hours and £2 million at 30 hours and having reached £2.8m at 0830 this morning, approximately 48 hours after the first donations.
Over 800 appeals were set up in total on the JustGiving platform (the most ever for one emergency) 600 within 24 hours.
The site has raised an average of 60k per hour, 1k per minute, or £17 per second over the last 48 hours in support of the emergency appeal.

The JustGiving emergency landing page (hosting some of the main pages) can be found here:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/categories/emergencies/grenfell-tower-fire

The top ten appeals trending on JustGiving at the moment are:

Key campaigns to mention include an appeal for The London Community Foundation by the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund on behalf of residents of the Grenfell Tower which has now raised over £1million.

The page reads: “The appeal and distribution of funds to victims in need of support will be run by the London Community Foundation which has administered the Dispossessed Fund since it was launched eight years ago.

“The Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund was set up in 2010 to help grassroots charities tackling poverty, inequality and exclusion across the capital. Since its launch in 2010, the Dispossessed Fund has raised £18.02 million from the general public, business, Government, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery.”

Other personal JustGiving fundraising pages raising significant funds on the platform include:

The Kensington Aldridge Academy appeal, created by local teacher Hayley Yearwood which has already raised over £1million. Hayley said on the page:

“I am the Y8 Director of Learning at Kensington Aldridge Academy and know that many of our students and their families will be affected by this awful fire. It is a really close-knit community and the trauma will be felt for years to come. I’d like to help in any way possible.

“On behalf of Kensington Aldridge Academy, the money raised will go to those residents of Grenfell Tower affected and will hopefully, even in some small way, help them with whatever they may need in the aftermath.”

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/familiesofgrenfelltower

A second JustGiving appeal by British actor Tom Hardy entitled Support and Aid for Victims of the Disaster at Grenfell Tower. (Tom also previously set up Tom Hardy’s Manchester Emergency Fund). The new page is raising money for the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation and has already raised over £8,500 of its £15,000 target. Tom wrote on the page:

“As a Londoner and as a human being, it is impossible to be unaffected by the harrowing, unnecessary loss of life, injury, sorrow, and the continuing desperate and disturbing situation facing those that were residents of Grenfell Tower, Latimer Road West London.

“It is impossible not to feel deep, profound shock and just stand by and not make the effort to help those who are innocent victims of a seemingly gross negligence. It is impossible not to commend the local community for their response of coming together to support those immediately affected by this tragedy at this time, and I am asking you to please help me raise funds to assist those who are suffering and their families”….(for more please see on page)

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tom-hardy6

A JustGiving appeal created by Robin Garton, who witnessed the fire and had friends living in the tower block. The page has already raised more than £93,000. Robin wrote on the page:

“I was there from 2am and witnessed a night of horrific scenes. I am now in the midst of a community that desperately needs help. My son was there for a playdate on Monday evening. Our friends got out, but many more than currently being reported did not. Hundreds are now homeless and need the basics of life before they can start rebuilding them.”

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/grenfellfirefund

A JustGiving appeal created by Chris Seagrove for his friend Natasha Elcock, her partner Anthony and their daughter. Shayla, who lost all their possessions in the fire. He wrote on the page:

“Natasha Elcock is a close friend and colleague of mine, who I have worked with for 5 years. She’s caring, compasionate and selfless, always putting the needs of others before herself. Thankfully they all got out of the building safely, which is the most important thing. I know a lot of her friends and colleagues would love to return the love and support she has given us all over the years by helping support her and her family in this time of need. Right now, they have nothing, so any support would be gratefully received, and I couldn’t think of a more deserving family.”

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/natashaelcock

A JustGiving appeal created by Get West London news site has raised £25,000. They wrote on the page:

“As the horror of the Grenfell Tower block fire unfolded on Wednesday (June 14) morning, people from across the country started asking what they can do to help those affected. Getwestlondon has launched this JustGiving page, in aid of those affected by the horrific fire. Although we’ll never be able to replace their loved ones, memories and homes, we can help them rebuild.”

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/grenfell-tower-support

Rhys Goode, spokesperson for JustGiving, said: “The thoughts of everyone at JustGiving go out to the victims of this terrible incident. The team here are doing all we can to help coordinate efforts to best help those affected. As with all emergency situations, we will be holding funds while we work with page owners to ensure that all money makes it to those in need.”

The fire which took place in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in Kensington, West London shortly before 1am on Wednesday morning has already killed at least 17 residents but sadly that figure is set to rise, with fears that the death toll could now exceed 60.

Fire chiefs has now said they do not expect to find any more survivors and PM Theresa May has ordered a full public enquiry.

To support the appeals, please visit:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/categories/emergencies/grenfell-tower-fire

For further press information, please contact:
Jane Eggleton
JustGiving PR Agency (Rooster PR)
T: +44 (0)20 3440 8925
E: [email protected]

Notes to editors:
JustGiving is the world’s leading social platform for giving, enabling over 20 million people across 164 countries to raise $4.2 billion since 2001. As a tech-for-good company, JustGiving re-invests all its profits into the development of world-class technology and innovative tools to fulfil its mission to connect people with the causes they care about.

The Met Police have established an emergency number for members of the public to use if they are concerned about a loved one. The Casualty Bureau number is 0800 0961 233.

Public Tower of Support

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