In just under a month, BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief have awarded £12,932,150 of funding from their joint appeal to 20 charities, projects and programmes across the UK who are providing essential help to those most in need during the COVID-19 crisis. This is in addition to £20 million allocated to the National Emergencies Trust and £4 million to NHS Charities Together.

The funding is the first round of allocations from the money raised by The Big Night In appeal, which one month ago, on Thursday 23^rd April, brought BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief together for the first time for a special BBC show to raise vital funding in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of the British public and partners, The Big Night In has so far raised £70 million, which includes Government match funding for every pound donated. The first £20 million funding has been awarded to the National Emergencies Trust, while a further £4 million funding has been awarded to NHS Charities Together; with the remaining £46 million split equally between BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief. All funds will help vulnerable people of all ages through the crisis in the coming weeks and months, including those affected by issues such as hunger, domestic violence and abuse, homelessness and isolation.

The three-hour television extravaganza was broadcast on BBC One and hosted by Davina McCall, Lenny Henry, Matt Baker, Paddy McGuinness and Zoe Ball. The show celebrated the everyday heroes who are making an incredible difference in their communities throughout the crisis, and featured an incredible array of famous faces who offered some light relief and entertainment through comedy sketches and musical performances.

Projects that have been awarded funding in the first allocation include:

• Women’s Aid Federations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has been awarded funding of £2 million from the appeal to support people experiencing domestic violence and abuse. It follows findings by domestic violence charity Refuge, who received 49% more calls to their helpline over a 21-day period in the lockdown. The funds will be used by the Women’s Aid Federations to scale and adapt their services as well as supporting their wider member organisations, so they can reach more women and children experiencing domestic abuse who are at greater risk during this time. This includes supporting vital helplines and web chats so people can safely reach out for help; services for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse; and supporting staff with personal protective equipment
• The British Red Cross has been awarded £650,000 from the appeal to support communities and people worst hit by the coronavirus crisis. By mobilising their network of volunteers, the British Red Cross will provide help to the most vulnerable people, including, families and people in poverty, older people who are more likely to be isolated or lonely and refugees and asylum seekers who are extremely vulnerable at this time. Funds will also be used for the British Red Cross national support Line, which is available for anyone to call throughout this emergency to seek support
• Age UK has been awarded £650,000 to support local Age UK branches to provide critical practical and emotional support to isolated older people across the UK, helping them provide deliveries of food and medicines, as well as additional befriending support for the people living in their communities. Funds will also support Age UK’s national advice helpline and telephone friendship services
• In light of recent statistics showing BAME communities to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19, Comic Relief is directing funding specifically for BAME community projects. This includes targeted funding through Rosa Women’s Fund and Refugee Action, plus an extra £650,000 which is set to be distributed by a BAME led partner organisation (more details to be announced shortly)
• BBC Children in Need’s crisis fund, Emergency Essentials, has been allocated an additional £2 million to help families who need immediate support. The Emergency Essentials programme provides small grants to families facing a crisis at home. The programme can provide items that meet children’s most basic needs, such as a bed to sleep in, a cooker to give them a hot meal, clothing and other items and services that are critical to children’s wellbeing
• A grant of £82,150 to Stormbreak will fund a pilot initiative in response to COVID-19, taking Stormbreak’s established and evidence based mental health programme – currently operating in primary schools in the South West of England – onto a digital platform to be available online, UK wide, on demand. The online platform will deliver activities known as ‘stormbreaks’ designed to support specific aspects of children’s mental health, each activity will be curated in a creative way to ensure they are fun and enjoyable for both children and their carers’

The British Red Cross will use funding from The Big Night In to support its networks of volunteers. They include volunteers like 28-year-old Ashley, who has been a British Red Cross crisis response volunteer for three years. Since the coronavirus outbreak, Ashley’s team has been supporting vulnerable people who are self-isolating.

For widowers like Penny, who has been unable to go shopping as she has a broken pelvis and has been following government isolation guidelines, the volunteers have been a lifesaver. With the help of Penny’s sister Jan, both of whom are in their 70’s, the British Red Cross was able to arrange for Ashley to do the shopping for her and deliver it to her doorstep.

In addition, BBC Children in Need has developed two dedicated COVID-19 Response Programmes to support local charities and organisations across the UK who are providing essential help to children and young people in need during the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 2020 Booster Grants Programme has opened to the charity’s 3,000 local projects based in communities across the UK to enable existing grant-holders to apply for funding up to £5,000 over a six-month period. In addition, the charity is launching a COVID-19 Grants Programme, which will open to applications from 8^th June 2020 and will enable local organisations supporting children and young people across the UK to apply for funding up to £80,000 over an 18-month period.

Donations to The Big Night In are still coming in and will include all profits from BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2020 festival merchandise, which takes place this bank holiday weekend (22^nd – 24^th May). This year’s festival, which will take place remotely for the first time ever (watch live here), will see over 100 artists including Sam Smith, Biffy Clyro, Anne-Marie, Young T & Bugsey and Rita Ora performing live sets – allowing fans to attend the festival from the comfort of their own homes. The festival merchandise is available here.

Today’s announcement marks the first round of funding to be awarded using the money raised by The Big Night In. Further funding will be made in the coming months as the UK continues to respond to evolving crisis.

For more information and to show your support visit The Big Night In website here.