Authors raise money for refugees in Europe

by: Garry Pierrepont (15 September 2015)

Pop stars are well known for their charity events and songs etc. Witness Live Aid and Live Eight, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ and ‘We Are The World’ as examples. Bob Geldof (now Sir, of course) and Midge Ure will forever be associated with the effort as well as a host of other pop stars.

I was therefore interested to read about authors getting involved in fundraising for the current refugee crisis in Europe.

Children’s author Patrick Ness pledged – via twitter inevitably – to donate £10,000 to Save The Children as soon as the public had donated that amount. It happened within two hours.

John Green – author of The Fault In Our Stars – was next up to make the same offer, followed by Derek Landy, JoJo Moyes, Green’s brother Hank Green, and other authors and authors’ groups. The fund fairly quickly passed a quarter of a million pounds.

As of today, the total, including Gift Aid, stands at over £670,000.

What an amazing effort by writers (may they become household names too!) and their readers, supporters, and those who just want to make a contribution to the refugee crisis.

If you would like to donate to this cause, go here http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PatrickNess.

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