Charity Update during lockdown

Category: Charity, News

Dear all,
My name is Srihitha N and I am this year’s Student Leader for Charity. The final summer half-term is usually packed with charity events but that will be a bit different this year. This post will inform you of some of the actions that you can take to continue supporting charities and organisations from home.

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone that has been fundraising and helping NHS and key worker charities in lockdown. Whether you’ve run 5k, taken part in online events or spread awareness through social media, you’ve played a part in supporting the nation in a challenging time.

Yemen Humanitarian Crisis

COVID-19 has affected every aspect of normal life and for those living in countries under conflict, the pandemic has had devastating effects. 24 million people including over 12 million children living Yemen are in need of humanitarian assistance. Limited supply of clean water, masks and gloves make regular hand washing almost impossible and sanitation difficult to enforce. There are still outbreaks of cholera during this pandemic making their population even more vulnerable. UNICEF are working in Yemen to fund emergency sanitation and hygiene operations which involve running clean water systems and distributing hygiene kits containing necessities such as soap for handwashing, which is essential in preventing COVID-19 and cholera. Without sufficient funds UNICEF will not be able to continue this life-saving work. There is more information on the UNICEF website about why donations are so crucial for the people of Yemen in this link. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/geneva-palais-briefing-note-humanitarian-situation-children-yemen https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/yemen/

Black Lives Matter

I know that many of you have actively been involved in raising awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement online. People are keeping themselves informed and difficult but necessary discussions are taking place thanks to you. It is critical that this organisation as well as other anti-racism charities such as Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust continue to receive support as they work to protect the rights of black and minority ethnic communities and campaign for justice and equality.

Donations can be made at these websites. 

https://uk.gofundme.com/f/ukblm-fund https://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/support-us/donate/

For those of you unable to donate, keeping yourselves educated through books and documentary films/series are the best ways to keep combatting racism from home. I have attached a document containing a few book and film recommendations.

There are also petitions that you can sign on https://petition.parliament.uk/ that I will include in the document.

JustGiving

JustGiving is a fundraising platform that you can use if you would like to fundraise for a cause you’re passionate about from home. Duha H (Y12) and her brother have already raised an incredible amount of over £600 for Yemen Emergency Aid through a sponsored run. I hope that this will inspire you to start your own fundraising pages from home and we’d love to hear about them. You can support their fundraiser through this link. https://justgiving.com/fundraising/mohamedandduha4yemen

I would like to thank you all again for taking such an active role in spreading awareness virtually and standing strong behind those who need it.

Srihitha N,
(Student Leader for Charity)