DEC Tsunami Appeal Breaks World Record

Officials at Guinness World Records announced today that the response from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Tsunami Earthquake Appeal has broken a World Record.

Between 6.16pm on 30th December and 6.16pm on the 31st December 2004, the DEC website, with the timely help of BT and their increased capacity, received 166,936 donations, raising £10,676, 836 for the Tsunami Earthquake Appeal. This is the most money ever donated online in 24 hours.

Brendan Gormley, chief executive of DEC, said: "The unprecedented generosity of the British Public has been humbling. DEC agencies are immensely grateful, and are working closely together to ensure that the money from this appeal is spent wisely and well."

The DEC predicts that it will raise £200 million for the Tsunami earthquake Appeal. To date there have been 1.7 million telephone donations.

The size of the response has meant that the DEC can now wind down its Appeal and focus on ensuring the money is moved to where it is need most.

Members of the Disasters Emergency Committee are now in an excellent position to respond to the emergency. Hundreds of thousands of people are already being provided with food, shelter, clothing, medical supplies and access to clean water and sanitation. Rehabilitation and livelihood projects to make a lasting difference to people's lives will go on for years to come.

Beth Courtier, Head of Charity Programmes at BT, which provided the secure payments facility on the DEC site, said: "We are delighted to have helped with enabling DEC to handle the enormous amount of donations they have received through the telephone lines and online. Online donations are an important part of the DEC's fundraising strategy and will become increasingly important for other charity Appeals in the future. Over 650,000 people have donated online through the DEC site since the Appeal began."