£100k donation from Camelot kickstarts COVID-19 charities appeal

Watford-based Camelot, which runs The National Lottery, has made a donation of £100K to Watford and Three Rivers Trust’s COVID-19 appeal

Watford-based Camelot, which runs The National Lottery, has made a donation of £100K to Watford and Three Rivers Trust’s COVID-19 appeal.

Camelot becomes the first large donor to the appeal since it was launched earlier this month following conversations with Dean Russell MP, Gagan Mohindra MP and Watford Mayor Peter Taylor.

The COVID-19 urgent appeal for Watford and Three River Trust’s (W3RT) Community Fund was launched by Peter Taylor, the Mayor of Watford and W3RT to raise funds for local charities on the front line of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Donations will help provide emergency food and medical supplies to isolated people, accommodation and support for rough sleepers, a lifeline to victims of domestic abuse and care for households suffering bereavement. Camelot will also be promoting W3RT project Neighbours Together to their employees, encouraging staff to use their paid volunteering days to take part in the telephone befriending service during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Local charities in both the Watford and Three Rivers boroughs are working wonders on the front line of this crisis, despite huge adversity and an unprecedented fall in their income. Every donation to the fund will make a huge difference to the lives of people affected by this crisis in Watford.

Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “This is an incredible donation from Camelot which will kickstart our appeal and will do so much to support those on the front line in our town during this crisis. Whenever I have spoken with Camelot, it is clear how much they care about helping our community. I am so pleased that they have agreed to make this donation and I know it will go a long way to support the outstanding work our voluntary sector is carrying out for the vulnerable and people in need across Watford. This is an amazing example of our local business community stepping up to support our town in its time of need. I have been bowled over by the generosity of people in Watford. I am proud to be Mayor of such a generous and community-orientated town. ” 

Camelot Chief Executive Nigel Railton said: “Camelot has been proud to call Watford its home for over 25 years. The vast majority of our employees and their families – including my own – live in the local area, and we’re hugely grateful for the way that we’ve seen our community come together to fight this crisis. We wanted to help in some way and, when Dean Russell MP, Gagan Mohindra MP and the Mayor told us about the amazing and selfless work of charities and voluntary groups in our town, we immediately knew that we wanted to support W3RT’s appeal. We hope our donation goes some way to assisting them, as they carry out their incredible work helping people who are most in need.”

Bob Jones of Watford and Three River Trust concluded: “These are extraordinary times. But this is also an extraordinary community with some extraordinary businesses. This appeal is a great example of people from all sectors coming together to support and serve their local community. W3RT will work closely with all partners to ensure that all donations are used to support priority frontline services and groups. Our grateful thanks to Camelot and all other donors.”

Local MP Dean Russell, who is working with Watford’s Mayor to drive donations to the appeal, said: “I am delighted that Camelot has recognised the excellent work of W3RT. I have seen the vital work that they are doing first hand and this generous donation will help them do even more to support our community. When I made the call to Camelot, I was sure they would be keen to support Bob and his team at W3RT. Although Camelot is making this generous donation separately from The National Lottery, it’s worth remembering that, every time someone plays The National Lottery, money is raised for Good Causes across the UK – and we've had almost £40 million of National Lottery funding in Watford alone, which is incredible.”

To donate to the appeal, please visit:  www.mywellbeing.community/covid19-appeal