#CoVid19 – Damian Lewis

Damian Lewis Receives CBE at Investiture Ceremony

On December 14, 2022December 15, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

FeedNHS: Sharing Honor With Helen

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | December 14, 2022

Damian was honored with Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama and charity on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at Windsor Castle, which was bestowed upon him by King Charles III. His daughter Manon and son Gulliver attended their father’s ceremony, as well as Helen’s parents Iain and Anne. And did you notice Damian wore his purple socks? 🙂

The recognition was previously announced during the Queen’s Birthday Honours in anticipation of her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 and published in the official public record of The Gazette. Damian has quietly carried out philanthropic work for several charities over many years, some of it with the late Helen McCrory. Beginning in 2020, he and Helen helped raise over £1.2 million for the FeedNHS campaign, a coalition charity helping feed NHS staff and frontline workers during the CoVid-19 pandemic, which allowed over 40,000 meals a day to be served to 100 hospitals.

The Royal recognition comes after Damian was awarded an OBE by The Duke of Cambridge Prince William at Buckingham Palace in 2014 for contributions to drama. In addition to CureEB, he is an Ambassador and Patron for a number of organizations, including youth charities Sir HvH Arts Foundation for The McCrory Award and The Prince’s Trust.

View more photos in our Gallery here.

An Investiture is the very special day when someone who has been awarded an honour receives their award in person from a Member of the Royal Family. The investee visits a Royal residence with members of their family to receive their insignia.

Continue reading Damian Lewis Receives CBE at Investiture Ceremony

CBE Events Helen Honors Print Media

Damian Lewis Set to Receive Royal Honours

On December 13, 2022December 15, 2022 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Royal Honours for FeedNHS

by Danny Halpin | Evening Standard | December 13, 2022

Damian Lewis, William Roache and AstraZeneca’s chief executive Sir Pascal Soriot are among a number of people due to be recognised with honours at an investiture ceremony on Wednesday, December 14, 2022.

Lewis, star of the award-winning shows Homeland and Band Of Brothers and who started a fundraiser to feed NHS staff healthy meals, will be made a CBE for services to drama and charity; while Roache, who holds the world record for the longest-serving TV actor in a continuous role for playing Ken Barlow in Coronation Street, will be made an OBE.

French-born Sir Pascal will be knighted for services to UK life sciences and the response to Covid-19 at the ceremony at Windsor Castle, after his company developed a vaccine and sent billions of doses around the world.

Paralympic athletes Karen Tonge and Sophie Wells and TV presenter Matt Baker are also to receive honours. Tonge, chair of Para Table Tennis, will be made an OBE for services to Paralympic table tennis after years of promoting the sport at a grassroots level. Para-equestrian Wells, who won gold at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, will also be made an OBE for services to equestrianism.

Continue reading Damian Lewis Set to Receive Royal Honours

Charity Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

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

On October 29, 2020December 1, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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

Uncategorized

The Feel-Good Power List – May 16, 2020

On May 16, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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

Charity FeedNHS Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

FeedNHS Expands Fundraising Efforts – May 16, 2020

On May 16, 2020December 1, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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

Charity FeedNHS Helen Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

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

On April 24, 2020December 1, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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

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

On April 9, 2020December 1, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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

Music Personal and Family Life Video

Damian Sends Hope from Home – April 9, 2020

On April 9, 2020April 9, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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:

Charity FeedNHS Helen Interviews Personal and Family Life Philanthropy

Damian Lewis Leads Restaurant Campaign to Feed Health Workers – April 9, 2020

On April 9, 2020December 1, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

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:

Continue reading Damian Lewis Leads Restaurant Campaign to Feed Health Workers – April 9, 2020