The Prime Minister penned an open letter to parents, carers and guardians to say they have responded magnificently to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
A sensational £1.25million in a single day was raised for Mail Force to help lockdown pupils yesterday.
Online fashion retailer Boohoo pledged a whopping £750,000 towards the ambitious campaign to get schoolchildren online. And a further £500,000 arrived from a generous benefactor who requested to remain anonymous.
On top of that, donations from Mail readers continued to flood in, including cheques and letters from retired teachers inspired to help the Computers for Kids drive.
It was the most successful fundraising day yet in an already phenomenal week. Some of Britain’s leading companies have thrown their weight behind the campaign, sending either cash or laptop computers.
The phrase ‘Daily Mail reader’ is used as a term of abuse by some on the left of British politics who may not read the paper but nonetheless see those who do as small-minded little Englanders. Editor Geordie Greig, not surprisingly, sees them a little differently.
Greig spoke about his typical reader this week as the paper kicked off its Computers for Kids campaign, which seeks to ensure less privileged children in the UK have access to laptops as the pandemic sees most children forced to learn from home.
In a rare interview, he told Press Gazette: “Daily Mail readers are ordinary people with extraordinary lives. They are people you sit next to on the Tube, on the aeroplane, at the bus stop – it’s the biggest newspaper readership in Britain and they are the bedrock of middle Britain. When they get behind something and feel there’s an injustice, they really support us.
Mail Force had a triple boost yesterday with £500,000 from a leading entrepreneur, laptops from Sainsbury’s and a deluge of donations from readers.
The charity’s campaign to get laptops to lockdown pupils has now raised an astonishing £2.6million in just five days.
Sir Tom Hunter, who made his fortune in sporting goods, handed over his magnificent donation along with his favourite quotation: ‘A man who dies rich, dies disgraced.’
Sir Tom Hunter, who made his fortune in sporting goods, handed over his magnificent £500,000 donation along with his favourite quotation: ‘A man who dies rich, dies disgraced’
He was the wealthiest man in Scotland – until he started giving away his money.
The Mail Force laptop campaign has smashed through the £1million barrier in just four days.
The phenomenal milestone has been reached thanks to reader generosity – and a stunning donation from Lloyds. The banking giant has offered 1,000 top-of-the-range laptops worth £500,000.
It is a sensational moment for the Computers for Kids drive to get urgently-needed devices to lockdown pupils. Our readers have now given the charity a staggering £445,000 – since only Saturday – helping children struggling to access online lessons.
Lloyds threw half a million pounds into the pot by donating 1,000 Surface Go 2 devices. Part laptop, part tablet, the cutting-edge machines have detachable screens.