Saturday Night for London to boost £700k raised for British Red Cross
Howard Lake | 12 June 2017 | News
Londoners, tourists and visitors to the capital have helped raise funds by supporting the British Red Cross’ Saturday Night for London campaign, following the London Bridge terror attack on 3 June.
London landmarks, theatres, restaurants and hotels joined the initiative to encourage people to come together on the Saturday night one week after the killings, to spend money and to raise money for the Red Cross’ appeal fund for victims of terrorism.
The fundraising campaign has several strands, inviting people to:
- take a Ride for London
- eat a Dish for London
- say Cheers for London
Many restaurants and cafes around Borough Market, where the attack ended with the shooting dead of the attackers, took part in the fundraising campaign. The chair of Borough Market has described the campaign as “a forceful reminder to those who sought to divide us”.
People have been asking how they can help – here are 5 ways you can #LoveBorough https://t.co/cidUmc1pOX pic.twitter.com/QKVRZ4HXhN
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— Borough Market (@boroughmarket) June 9, 2017
The money raised has been donated to the British Red Cross UK Solidarity Fund. This was set up in response to the recent murderous attacks in London and Manchester. Funds will help victims of terror attacks in need anywhere in the UK.
The @BritishRedCross fund is helping those in need of support after last week’s horrific attack. Donate here: https://t.co/jSiJVRkWat pic.twitter.com/BMusNhStZa
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 10, 2017
Food and drink fundraising activities
Fundraising activities on the Saturday Night for London included:
• 260 Greene King pubs and Loch Fyne restaurants in London donated £1 for every dish of fish and chips sold on the night and encouraged customers to donate.
• Deliveroo donated £1 for every order placed across London on the Saturday evening from 6pm onwards.
• Thomasina Miers’ Mexican restaurant group Wahaca donated £1 for every plate of classic pork pibil tacos purchased at all of their restaurants in London, as well as at Wahaca Manchester.
• LEON donated £1 for every Chicken and Chorizo Club Hot Box sold in any of its restaurant across the weekend.
• Borough Wines & Beers donated £1 for every wine refill sold in their London shops on Saturday.
• Eat encouraged customers to donate the price of a coffee, displaying posters in its stores across London.
From going to silent disco to ordering a @Deliveroo, here’s how you can stand with London tonight: https://t.co/JRmSF8w8Dc #NightForLondon pic.twitter.com/3ukdcRwOOo
— British Red Cross 🧡 (@BritishRedCross) June 10, 2017
Other significant donations were made by Tesco, RBS and Morrison’s. The Morrison’s Foundation also arranged bucket collections across the country.
Entertainment fundraising activities
• The Society of London Theatre held bucket collections and donations at member theatres. They also donated £1 on every ticket sold at TKTS, their official London theatre booth in Leicester Square.
• The View from the Top of the Shard donated £1 from every ticket sold to its Silent Disco on Saturday night and held collections throughout the night.
Hotel fundraising activities
• The Dorchester donated the proceeds from soufflés ordered from The Grill at The Dorchester’s dedicated sweet soufflé menu on Saturday night.
Travel fundraising activities
• Uber donated £1 for every trip taken in London on Saturday between 8pm and midnight. (Uber had earlier refunded all trips from the areas around the attacks on the night of the incident). It is also encourage people to donate to the fund with a special pop-up message in its app.
• Nightrider charity bike ride supported the appeal with collections at their event during the weekend.
• The Original Tour donated £1 from every ticket sold on-street on Saturday.
Matched giving
The Vodafone Foundation matched the first £100,000 of donations made via JustTextGiving to the UK Solidarity Fund by Monday 19 June. To donate £10, please text HELP99 10 to 70070.
Red Cross Saturday Night for London poster (10 June 2017)
UK Solidarity Fund
The Red Cross reported “strong support” for its newly-established UK Solidarity Fund has seen strong support since it launched on Sunday. This has included:
• Virgin Atlantic, who are making on board collections and Virgin Holidays are collecting donations through their online page.
• Donations from TJX Europe (TK Maxx and HomeSense) and Sage Foundation.
• British Red Cross Disaster Relief Alliance partners Tesco, Aviva, Kingfisher and John Lewis Partnership have donated to the appeal through the charity’s disaster fund.
• More than 17 national and London news outlets have donated free advertising space to promote the fund, including Bauer Media and Wireless radio networks and Westfield shopping centre has arranged for its digital billboards to publicise the appeal.
Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross said: “It’s fantastic to see London coming together to support the people affected by terror attacks.
“The attack in London Bridge and people enjoying a Saturday night out with friends was an attack on the spirit of London. We want to encourage people to come together and unite at this difficult time.
“We have already raised over £700,000 to help victims of the attacks and their families, and we want to provide a way for people to donate to help those affected in their time of need. Thank you London.”
- Muslims hand out thousands of roses at London Bridge in solidarity with terror victims (paid for via a crowdfunding campaign) (11 June 2017)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.