JustGiving verifies that Hollywood star Tom Hardy has launched a JustGiving page following Monday’s terror attack in Manchester which is genuine.
The 39-year-old actor is raising money for the British Red Cross and has already raised over £17,750, surpassing his original £15,000 target. This helps bring the total amount raised, so far, for victims and their families (from all 150 JustGiving pages) to over £2million this morning.
He added: “What happened at the AG [Ariana Grande] concert in Manchester was a tragedy; families and children attacked and murdered; in a place where they should be safe and enjoying a concert – it is an inconceivable atrocity.
“There is no bringing back those who have been lost, pointlessly, in such a cowardly and brutal fashion. I am truly saddened by what I have witnessed and there is no doubt that Terrorism is an evil thing.
“I hope that between us we can raise some funds as a gesture of goodwill and love to help in some small way towards repairing some if any of the damage done…
“There will be much to do and for many, the beginning of a new life without those that they love and also a new life damaged irrevocably by the actions of a crime which has no reason, no heartfelt purpose but was simply a cruel cowardly and barbaric, meaningless act of violence.
“Terrorism is abhorrent, the killing of innocent families and children unacceptable. And it is with those, the innocent victims and the witnesses of this atrocity that my heartfelt concern and deepest sympathy lies. Please help however you can. Thankyou.”
Tom’s post concluded: “Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.”
An outpouring of unity and support has seen over 150 JustGiving crowdfunding pages created to raise money to help those affected, including a JustGiving page set up by the Manchester Evening News which has now raised over £1,270,000 alone from over 41,000 supporters.
Rhys Goode, a spokesperson for JustGiving, said: “Following this devastating and cowardly attack, it speaks volumes that the people of Manchester and across the UK have rallied to support the victims, their families and friends in their hour of need. This shows just how strong people’s resolve is not to be cowed in the face of terror.”
The British Red Cross in association with We Love MCR, the Lord Mayor of Manchester’s’ charity have also established the Manchester Emergency JustGivingFund which has also raised over £763,000 which means that over £2 million has already been raised in total to support the victims and their families. JustGiving also donated £50,000 to this appeal.
JustGiving saw 10 times the normal volume of traffic on the site and at one point had 33000 people active at the same time – reaching six donations a second. This has more than doubled the site’s previous record for people on the platform at one time.