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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Damian and Other Prince’s Trust Celebrity Supporters Urge Young People to Seek Help During Coronavirus Pandemic – April 25, 2020
Prince’s Trust Campaign: #StartSomething
by Staff | The Irish News | April 24, 2020
Celebrity supporters of the Prince’s Trust have joined forces to urge young people to seek help during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hollywood actor Sir Ben Kingsley, James Bond star Naomie Harris and musician Nile Rodgers are some of the famous names who appear in a video calling on those who may need support or advice to contact the Trust.
Aged 16-30 and need help? Or know someone who needs it? These familiar faces want to tell you that we’re here for you, right now. No matter what your circumstances are, or where you’re from. Whether you’re struggling to find employment or need support with your business, talk to us today using our live chat function at the Coronavirus Support Hub here.
Recorded in their own homes due to the coronavirus lockdown, the celebrities each speak a phrase of the message:
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Telegraph Interview: Isolated in Suffolk Put to Good Use – April 24, 2020
Isolated in Suffolk, TV’s First Couple Have Created a Scheme to Supply the NHS with Thousands of Meals
by Guy Kelly | The Telegraph | April 24, 2020
Spare a thought for celebrities at the moment. Forced into lockdown like the rest of the civilian population, and with unreliable Wi-Fi at their fourth homes, many have been unable to maintain their expensive round-the-clock PR advice.
That’s the only excuse I can think of for some recent announcements, anyway. Left unattended by people whose job it is to say, “That isn’t… the best look”, we have had the likes of billionaire Sir Richard Branson attempting to solicit mass public sympathy (and money) to help his struggling business. So, too, Victoria Beckham, who, from her Cotswolds mansion, has furloughed 25 employees rather than, say, dip into her estimated £360m fortune. Even Idris Elba, fresh from Covid-19, has drawn ire for his suggestion the “world should quarantine for a week every year to remember this time.”…
Fortunately, though, not all celebrities are quite so errant when left to their own devices. The Telegraph spoke to some who are putting their spare time to good use, beginning with actors Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory.
The couple, who have been married for almost 13 years, were working apart when lockdown neared in March. Lewis, star of Homeland, was in New York, filming the fifth series of Sky’s Billions, when the TV business started shutting down, forcing him to return to England.
McCrory, who was last seen in ITV’s Quiz, meanwhile, was closer to home, filming the sixth series of Peaky Blinders. Together with co-star Cillian Murphy and producers, it was her decision to tell the BBC she was “not comfortable doing this anymore” and request they pause production.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Podcast Guests: Damian and Helen Discuss FeedNHS Efforts on The Coronavirus Newscast – April 9, 2020
The Coronavirus Newscast
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 9, 2020
Every day, Adam Fleming, Laura Kuenssberg, Fergus Walsh and Chris Mason bring us the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in the UK via the The Coronavirus Newscast. They discuss the latest public health information and how it is affecting our lives. On Thursday, April 9, 2020 Damian and Helen were guests on the podcast to share with listeners about their #FeedNHS campaign and their efforts to feed frontline heroes, hospital staff.
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on Damian Lewis Leads Restaurant Campaign to Feed Health Workers – April 9, 2020
Coronavirus Appeal With Leon Restaurants Will Supply 6,000 Meals a Day
by Richard Vines | Bloomberg | April 9, 2020
The actor Damian Lewis initiated a campaign with the Leon healthy fast-food group to raise £1 million ($1.2 million) to feed National Health Service workers partly to overcome a feeling of helplessness he felt under lockdown.
The FeedNHS campaign, in alliance with Leon co-founder and chief executive John Vincent, is currently serving about 5,200 meals a day to critical-care workers at London hospitals and aims to reach its initial goal of 6,000 daily meals sometime next week. The campaign has support from restaurant groups including Wasabi, Tortilla, Peach Pubs, Rosa’s Thai, Hop, Pizza Pilgrims, Franco Manca, Farmer J, Tossed, Haché, Abokado, Dishoom and Nusa Kitchen.
“Helen (McCrory), my wife, and I have friends who are in quite senior positions in the NHS and the clarion call kept coming from everybody that it was difficult to get fed during the day and do you have any influence?” said Lewis, whose awards include an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance as Nicholas Brody in the TV series “Homeland.” Most recently he’s starred as a hedge fund manager in “Billions.”
Lewis and McCrory, who appeared in the Harry Potter movies and “Peaky Blinders,” are in touch with Vincent daily after reaching out via a mutual connection. The aim is simple, Lewis says:
“When you have done four hours straight, working ventilators in PPE (personal protective equipment) gear, you can walk out and someone will hand you a hot, healthy meal,” he said. “We all want to do something that can help. Staying at home is an odd feeling, like being under house arrest, feels cowardly, oddly, even though it is the most important thing you can do.”
Lewis said he’s been experiencing a range of emotions during the coronavirus lockdown in a telephone interview from his home in Suffolk, in the east of England:
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Written By GingersnapComments Off on FeedNHS Update – April 8, 2020
Thanks a Million!
by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | original April 8, 2020 (updated April 24)
We reported earlier that Damian, Helen, and Matt Lucas had partnered with John Vincent of LEON Restaurants to feed NHS workers during the CoVid-19 crisis.
FeedNHS is campaigning to raise as much money as possible for NHS Trusts to get hot, healthy meals to NHS teams on the front line. They are starting their initiative with the hardest-hit London hospitals trusts Imperial, UCHL, Royal Free and St Barts, but they want to go further and take this nationwide.
And now, FeedNHS has become the fifth largest crowdfunding appeal on JustGiving raising over $1.1m (£1m). The campaign has reached more than 100% of the £1,000,000.00 target (£1,171,495). Initially providing 5,000-6,000 meals a day to hospital staff, FeedNHS now estimates it has the funds to serve up to 25,000 hot meals per day across 55 hospitals for the next six weeks, and looking to expand locations from London to Brighton, Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester. Damian was quoted in Birmingham Live saying,
“But it means we can now kick in with a second round of funding – which is essentially what we are trying to do – in order to take it to Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester, because the virus will move through those city centres.”
In addition, The Press and Journal reported that FeedNHS has teamed up with Mealforce, BaxterStorey, Feed Our Frontline and charity NHS Helpforce to tackle the task in pledging to serve hospital sites in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. But they want to keep going, as more funding is needed to add an extra 15,000 meals a day and to extend provision beyond six weeks, providing 600,000 more meals. You can help feed NHS workers one hot, healthy meal a day here.
