Categories Charity Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

PRWeek UK Awards Winners 2020: FeedNHS – Oct 28, 2020

Best Proactive Communications During the Coronavirus Crisis

by PRWeek UK Staff | PR Week | October 28, 2020

Nominated: Best Ethical or Good Cause Initiative During the Coronavirus Crisis
Nominated and Won: Best Proactive Communications During the Coronavirus Crisis

Judge’s comment:
Brilliant campaign, well executed with passion.

And the winner is, FeedNHS! This campaign aimed to raise £1m to get hot, healthy meals to frontline NHS staff during the coronavirus crisis, as many struggled to get them amid lockdown closures. It was set up by Leon Restaurants co-founder and chief executive John Vincent, actors Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory, and actor and comedian Matt Lucas.

Continue reading PRWeek UK Awards Winners 2020: FeedNHS – Oct 28, 2020

Categories Uncategorized

The Feel-Good Power List – May 16, 2020

People Making a Real Difference During the Corona Crisis

by Lucy Dunn | The Telegraph | May 16, 2020

Two months ago the world changed and the people we took notice of changed, too. A new gravity gripped the nation. Almost overnight headlines pronounced ‘the death of celebrity’. Pampered individuals living in bubbles with carefully crafted Instagram fantasies quickly felt off-key.

We suddenly wanted to witness great acts of altruism. We wanted to read about people rolling up their sleeves and pitching in. Ordinary people suddenly became the new stars – who knew that a 100-year-old veteran called Captain (now Colonel) Tom would become such a national treasure?

Conversely, some people in the public eye came in for criticism for reading the mood wrongly. Like singer Sam Smith, who posted a ‘quarantine meltdown’ picture crying on the steps of their £12 million mansion. (Smith later insisted the video had been a joke that backfired.) Or Victoria Beckham, whose fashion label sought £150,000 in taxpayer funds to place 30 staff on furlough. (Following a backlash about the Beckhams’ personal wealth, the brand later reversed its decision.) And like Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish, who was caught breaking lockdown rules 24 hours after imploring his 297,000 Twitter followers to ‘Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives’.

Continue reading The Feel-Good Power List – May 16, 2020

Categories Charity Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

Zoom With Damian For Charity – May 16, 2020

Moms Against Poverty

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 16, 2020

If you bid just right, you could win a five minute 1:1 Zoom meeting with actor and producer Damian Lewis.

100% of proceeds will go towards Moms Against Poverty’s (MAP) global CoVid-19 hunger relief efforts. Their mission is to nurture and educate underprivileged children to their fullest potential, so that, one day, they can contribute and lead within their own communities; thus breaking the cycle of poverty. Their projects include the following programs: Education, Hunger Relief and Basic Provisions, and Orphan Care. MAP is changing the world, one child at a time.

As of publication of this post, the public has approximately six days left to bid, here.

Restrictions: Zoom meetings to be redeemed at convenience and availability of talent.

Categories Charity FeedNHS Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

FeedNHS Expands Fundraising Efforts – May 16, 2020

Rolling Out the Nationwide Campaign

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | May 16, 2020

FeedNHS is expanding its fundraising efforts from £1M to £2M. So far, £1,239,800 (*updated June 12) has been raised of the £2,000,000 target (61%). Just launched on March 27, it took the coalition only 10 days to raise the first £1M. And now they want to do it again in order to expand nationwide.

For more information, visit their FeedNHS website here and to donate, please visit the JustGiving campaign here. Here is a recent story Damian and Helen shared online:

“Hi, we’ve been raising as much money as we can to help feed NHS workers one healthy meal each day. We started in the hardest hit London hospitals and with the help of our coalition partners we’ve now taken it nationwide.

We had a target to raise 1 million pounds for our scheme and thanks to the public’s overwhelming generosity we’ve raised it. Thank you! But as more hospitals have heard about what we’re doing it’s become clear that we mustn’t stop. So our aim now is to raise 2 million (in total ) which will enable us to feed even more hospital workers across the nation. So if you can, and we know not everyone can, please donate. With you, we know we can make up the difference.

We’re Damian and Helen and like all the best things in life, this started with a chat to a friend.”

Continue reading FeedNHS Expands Fundraising Efforts – May 16, 2020

Categories Charity FeedNHS Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

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.

Continue reading Telegraph Interview: Isolated in Suffolk Put to Good Use – April 24, 2020

Categories Audio Charity FeedNHS Helen Interviews Personal and Family Life Philanthropy Podcast

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.

Listen here at about 21:30 in.

Here are some soundbites and highlights in transcription form:

Continue reading Podcast Guests: Damian and Helen Discuss FeedNHS Efforts on The Coronavirus Newscast – April 9, 2020

Categories Music Personal and Family Life Video

Damian Sends Hope from Home – April 9, 2020

Has Anybody Seen My Girl?

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 9, 2020

Damian sent out a musical message today, singing about hope in honor of World Health Day. He wrote: “Coming to you in two parts for #HopeFromHome a world premiere! ‘Ave a giggle and help out where you can. And after this is all over LETS HUG.”  We combined his two videos into one. Here is the direct embedded video:

And here is the link to the video on YouTube so you can share with your friends and family: