‘Mail Force’, a charity set-up by the Daily Mail in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been honoured with the Journalists’ Charity’s Special Award at the National Press Awards. The initiative has brought together businesses, celebrities, and thousands of readers to make a huge difference – demonstrating the power of newspapers to make things happen. In just over a year, Mail Force has raised £25m to deliver more than 42m items of PPE to front-line workers, chartering a plane as part of its ambitious operation. After that, it set about sourcing laptops for vulnerable children who had fallen behind at school. So far, more than 14,000 have been given out.
James Brindle, CEO of the Journalists’ Charity said, “What Mail Force has achieved in the last year is truly astonishing. It highlights the unique ability of newspapers to bring people together to do something very special. Huge credit goes to the massive team effort behind the initiative, which yet again underlines the enormous value journalism brings to our society.”
The Journalists’ Charity’s Special Award is given for outstanding commitment and contribution to journalism and is decided by the charity’s trustees, who are all journalists or former journalists from across the industry.
On receiving the award, Geordie Greig, editor of the Daily Mail said, “We are honoured to be recognised with this award from a charity that does so much for our industry. Our Mail Force campaign demonstrated the crucial role that newspapers continue to have in society as a force for good. It also showed, yet again, how generous our readers are and how much they shared our desire to get behind something that mattered to them.
Even though we had no experience in buying PPE or laptops, sometimes you have to step into the fray. We wanted to back up our words with actions and it has been hugely rewarding to hear from hospitals, care homes and schools about the difference we made.”
Since March 2020, the Journalists’ Charity has given essential help and support to hundreds of journalists affected by the pandemic, while continuing to champion the role of newspapers and other media outlets in supporting their communities.
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