Stars join telethon to support Philippines Appeal
One Direction, Jamie Oliver, and stars from Downton Abbey and Strictly Come Dancing join a host of other celebrities supporting the DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal
One Direction will tweet to kick off a celebrity telethon at BT Tower tomorrow where callers could have their donations taken by one of a host of celebrities.
For the chance for their donation to be taken by a celebrity the public should call: 0370 6060610 between 4pm and 7pm tomorrow.
From 4pm to 7pm tomorrow, 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, 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:http://twitter.com/decappeal or on Facebook via http://www.facebook.com/DisastersEmergencyCommittee
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Notes to editors:
For more information, to attend the event or to arrange interviews with the celebrities involved contact Rose Marsh on: press1@dec.org.uk / 07789 075522 or Sean Kenny on press11@dec.org.uk / 0207 255 4280. Photo ID will be required to be allowed entry to the event.
Event details: Monday 18 November 4 – 7 PM, BT Tower, 60 Cleveland St, London W1T 4JZ. Official photocalls will take place at 4.15pm and 6.30pm.
The celebrities taking part in the telethon, which is being kicked off via twitter by One Direction, are: Alan Rickman (actor), Jamie Oliver (celebrity chef), Andrew Marr (journalist / TV presenter), Joanne Froggatt (actress, Downton Abbey), Allen Leech (actor, Downton Abbey), Stephen Merchant (actor, comedian), Juliet Stevenson (actress), Laura Bailey (model), Karen Hauer (Strictly dancer), Natalie Lowe (Strictly dancer), Lisa Snowdon (Capital Radio and TV Presenter), Richard and Judy (presenters), Nigel Havers (actor), Laurence Llewelyn Bowen (TV presenter), Linda Barker (TV presenter, interior design), Gemma Cairney (Radio 1 presenter), Poppy Delevingne (model), Sarah Alexander (actress, Smack the Pony, Greenwing, Coupling), Daisy Lowe (model), Fay Ripley (actress), Fiona Phillips (TV presenter), Vanessa White (singer, The Saturdays), Nemone Metaxas (Radio 6 presenter), Shaun Keaveny (Radio 6 presenter), Adrian Chiles (TV presenter), (TV Nicholas Owen (newsreader), Natasha Kaplinsky (newsreader), Nick Frost (actor), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (actor, Curtis Donovan in MISFITS), Santiago Cabrera (actor, Isaac Mendez in Heroes and Lancelot in BBC’s Merlin), Mark Watson (Comedian and novelist), Zawe Ashton (actress, Fresh Meat, St.Trinian's), Nick Ross (TV presenter), Owen Jones (author and commentator), Javine (singer, 2005 Eurovision), Jeff Fahey (US actor, currently in West End), Jolyon Rubinstein (comedian, The Revolution), Bip Ling (Model/fashion Blogger), Cherry Healy (TV Presenter) , Meg Mathews (celebrity interior designer), Jo Wood (entrepreneur), Lesley Waters (celebrity chef).
As well as calling the celebrity telethon on 0370 6060610 between 4pm and 7pm on Monday 18th November, people can also make a donation to the DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal on the DEC 24-hour hotline: 0370 6060900, by visiting http://www.dec.org.uk, by donating over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or by sending a cheque. Additionally they can donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.
The DEC brings together 14 leading UK aid charities in times of crisis: Action Aid, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Plan UK, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.
BT is a long-term strategic partner to the DEC. Day to day, BT manages the organisation’s network and phone system and when disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan strike, BT’s free MyDonate platform processes online donations quickly and securely, ensuring all money goes straight to the charity. As well as providing the phone lines for the Philippines Typhoon Telethon at BT Tower on Monday, 60 BT volunteers have been recruited to man the phones alongside the celebrities.
