One Direction will tweet to kick off a celebrity telethon at BT Tower today where callers could have their donations taken by one of a host of celebrities.
Credit/Copyright: Tom Dymond
For the chance for their donation to be taken by a celebrity the public should call: 0370 6060610 between 4pm and 7pm today.
From 4pm to 7pm today, Monday 18 November, a host of celebrities including Jamie Oliver, Andrew Marr, Radio 1’s Gemma Cairney, Alan Rickman, Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt and Allen Leech, Lisa Snowdon, Nigel Havers, Nick Frost, Meg Mathews and comedian Stephen Merchant will be answering the phones at a fundraising telethon. The event will take place at London’s iconic BT Tower and will raise funds for the DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal. The telethon will give donors the chance to have their donation taken by a famous voice on the other end of the phone.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is raising money to help the survivors of last week’s typhoon, which ripped through the Philippines, devastating the lives of over 11 million people. Typhoon Haiyan, which raised a storm the size of Germany, flattened homes, schools and hospitals and destroyed food and water supplies.
Jamie Oliver said: “Families have been through the terrifying experience of the typhoon and now many face a daily struggle just to stay alive. I’m looking forward to answering the phones to the generous British public as we all do what we can to help.”
Joanne Froggatt said: “This appeal is so desperately needed – I’m happy to be able to help. The more money the DEC raises the more people they will be able to reach with vital, life-saving aid. The Filipino people urgently need our help to get back on their feet.”
One Direction’s Liam Payne who, along with the other members of the band, will be officially launching the telethon via twitter, said: “The pictures I have seen of little children in-between the ruins made my heart break. All of us in the band are shocked by how many people need help, so we’re asking the public to continue to be as generous as they possibly can.”
Thanks to public donations the DEC appeal raised £23 million in the first 48 hours, and has now reached £35 million. This money is critical to getting food to the 2.5 million people who are hungry, and shelter to the 900,000 people who have been driven from their homes.
The DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said: “We are so grateful to the public whose support for the appeal has been overwhelming. We are also grateful to so many celebrities who have given up their time to help out, and to BT who have been extraordinary in their support of the appeal to help raise even more funds. But more money is still needed for emergency aid and to help hundreds of thousands of people rebuild their lives.”
Stay up to date with developments in the Philippines, the emergency response and the DEC’s fundraising efforts on Twitter or on Facebook.
