Julia & Hans Rausing donate £2.6mn to Christmas appeals
Melanie May | 20 December 2022 | News
Julia and Hans Rausing are giving a total of £2.6 million in donations to charities supporting those in need this Christmas – specifically those supporting the homeless, children and food banks.
35 charities have been selected. Grants include £500,000 to St Martin-in-the-Fields, £400,000 to Barnardo’s and £300,000 to The Felix Project.
The grant of £500,000 to St Martin-in-the-Fields marks the single largest donation in the 96-year history of its Christmas Appeal.
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Other donations were made to the Christmas Appeals at the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), City Harvest and Comic Relief’s ‘On the breadline campaign’.
In specific regions, £120,000 was donated across 17 charities focused on supporting communities in Gloucestershire and East Cheshire, both local areas to Julia and Hans Rausing.
The donation marks the fourth year in which Julia and Hans Rausing have made a donation to charitable causes over the Christmas period. This year’s £2.6 million donation is the largest Christmas donation to date and is in response to the national cost of living crisis.
These Christmas donations follow the £10 million donation Julia and Hans Rausing recently donated to food banks across the UK.
Julia and Hans Rausing said:
“It is easy to forget that while Christmas is such a wonderful time for the majority, it is also a time of great hardship for so many people across the country. This winter in particular has been made all the more difficult with the cost of living crisis which is why we are supporting 35 charities.
“These donations have been hand-selected to have maximum impact in specific areas: helping the homeless, assisting children’s charities, food surplus distributors and local communities. We hope that these donations can help provide some relief to those in need during these winter months.”
Barnardo’s Chief Executive Lynn Perry commented:
“For too many children, a ‘normal’ Christmas can mean not enough food, struggling to stay warm, going without presents, and feeling left out while others celebrate.
“We want all children to feel safe and happy at Christmas, but we know that’s impossible while their basic needs aren’t being met. With the sharp rise in food and energy costs this year, many parents are facing additional pressure to create a special Christmas for their families.
“Barnardo’s supports children and families who need urgent help this winter, which is why we are so grateful to Julia and Hans Rausing for this generous donation which will help Barnardo’s provide food vouchers, warm clothing and other essentials to the children and families who need it most.”
- Rausings launch £3.5 million fund to support food banks (17 November 2022)
- £500,000 donation to BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal by Julia and Hans Rausing (19 December 2022)
- Julia and Hans Rausing pledge £3.5 million to Trussell Trust emergency appeal (24 October 2022)
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.