We Love Manchester Emergency Fund reaches £5.57m

We Love Manchester Emergency Fund

People across Britain and the world have joined forces to raise £5.57m in less than five days to help survivors of the Manchester bombing.

A new charity is now being set up by Manchester City Council to urgently distribute funds to those affected by the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena.

A huge outpouring of public support has led to £5.57m being raised for the families of the bereaved and survivors of the tragedy. Thousands of people have pledged their support, including pop star Ariana Grande, who announced last night she would return to Manchester to hold a benefit concert.

Take That have also pledged to donate profits from their first show since the attack, held last night, to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

Generous donations from members of the public have also been made, with a hundred volunteers giving their time to carry out bucket collections in Manchester city centre and across the country on Saturday. More than 80 runners will also take part in the Greater Manchester Run tomorrow in aid of the appeal, including Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

The fundraising campaign is being led by Manchester City Council in partnership with the British Red Cross, which is collecting the donations. The Manchester Evening News has joined forces with the campaign to funnel all the money into this main appeal.

After advice from the Charity Commission, the City Council is now establishing a new charity called the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund to help distribute the funds. The new structure allows the money raised to go to all those affected by the tragedy, whether or not they live in the city.

Trustees will be made up of members and officers of Manchester City Council, the Manchester Evening News, and independent experts.

Police family liaison officers and Victim Support are helping people get the financial support they need as soon as possible. They are ensuring payments are made to those in need, particularly bereaved families, as and when they need it, until the new charity is set up to distribute the funds generously donated to the appeal.

Victim Support provide a 24 hour supportline for all victims of crime, as well as longer term, locally based support from independent victims advocates based across Greater Manchester and the wider region. They bring their experience from providing immediate and long term support following the 7/7, Tunisia and most recently Westminster attacks.

The number to call for anyone affected requiring immediate help is:

Victim support helpline - 0808 16 89 111.

Further details of how survivors can access the fund will be released next week.

The trustees are:

• Sir Howard Bernstein, former chief executive of Manchester City Council
• Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, Greater Manchester Police
• Jon Rouse, Chief Officer, Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership
• Rob Irvine, editor-in-chief, Manchester Evening News 
• Rachel Downey, project director, Manchester Life
• Liz Treacy, city solicitor, Manchester City Council 
• Carol Culley, city treasurer, Manchester City Council
• Councillor Sue Murphy, Deputy Leader, Manchester City Council
• Joanne Roney OBE, chief executive, Manchester City Council

To donate, please go to www.redcross.org.uk/manchester or call 0300 456 4999