Anonymous Good Samaritans Receive Ultimate Accolade at the JustGiving Awards

Anonymous donors praised for helping to raise over £6 million for good causes over the last 12 months.

At their annual awards ceremony held in London on Tuesday, 20 November 2018, JustGiving dedicated their ‘Special Recognition’ award to the thousands of good Samaritans whose anonymous donations helped raise over £6 million for good causes across the world.

For the first time, the awards recognised the selfless contributions made over the last 12 months by this special group of people who used JustGiving to help change the lives of others.

Individuals that benefited from their generous acts include Donna Corden, who was able to pay for urgent reconstructive facial surgery after she lost half of her face to a rare flesh-eating bug. And Alex, a 12-year old boy from South Wales who was born with Down Syndrome and leukemia, to make his lifelong dream to visit Disney Land come true.

Keith Williams, General Manager, UK & Ireland at JustGiving, said: “This award not only celebrates the efforts of a selfless group of individuals, but it also highlights how some causes can transcend family and friends to connect and touch the hearts of complete strangers. “Whilst we can’t personally thank the thousands of anonymous supporters, who used JustGiving to help change the lives of people in need. We would like to dedicate this important award to celebrate, honour and thank them for being life changers “for good”.

Donna Corden, Crowdfunder and a beneficiary of JustGiving’s anonymous donors, said: “My best friend Lindsey set up a JustGiving page shortly after my accident. And at the time I remember thinking this isn’t going to work. As I genuinely didn’t believe complete strangers would take time out from their busy lives to help me.

“When I first saw how much had been made, and what this would mean for my recovery, I burst into tears of joy. These anonymous donors have changed my life and have helped to restore my faith in humanity. I will forever be grateful for their help!”

The ninth annual JustGiving Awards, which was hosted by television and radio presenter Sarah Jane Crawford, received over 35,000 votes from members of the public.

Other winners on the night included

Charity of the Year
British Hen Welfare Trust The national charity re-homes commercial laying hens; educates the public about how they can make a difference to hen welfare and encourages support for the British egg industry.

Endurance Fundraiser of the Year
Kevin Webber Since his advanced prostate cancer diagnosis in 2014, Kevin has taken on a series of endurance challenges for Prostate Cancer UK. This includes taking on the Marathon Des Sables a grand total of three times!

Creative Fundraiser of the Year
Clare Young Grieving widow Clare, knitted for up to 12 hours a day, to create a 4m x 4m Knitted Show Garden Installation at RHS Malvern Spring Festival to raise funds for Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice.

Change Maker of the Year
Maria and Stuart Grennan After the still birth of their daughter Maggie-Lynn, Maria and her husband Stuart raised money to secure a second room for the Worcestershire Maternity Bereavement Suite and to soundproof two delivery rooms for stillborn labours.

Fundraising Team of the Year
hree Dads Walking. This group of 14 dads climbed 5 mountains in 55 hours (Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England, and Snowdon, Cadair Idris & Penyfan in Wales) to support Welsh children’s hospice Ty Hafan.

Young Fundraiser of the Year
Maddison Harris After experiencing hair loss, following her two-year treatment for leukaemia, Maddison started a campaign “Don’t Stare, It’s Only Hair” to raise funds for children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

Celebrity Fundraiser of the Year
Josh Patterson Josh, and his recently paralysed friend Ben Tansley, took part in the Berlin Marathon in wheelchairs to raise funds for the Spinal Injury association.

Crowdfunder of the Year
Lisa Wells Shortly after her youngest daughter was born, Lisa was diagnosed with terminal bowel and liver cancer. She, along with her friends – the aptly named #LisasArmy, participated in a series of fundraising challenges to help provide financial security for her daughters and raise money for Dorothy House Hospice Care.

Outstanding Commitment of the Year
Lucy Linnott After becoming the youngest person in Scotland to be diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, Lucy decided to launch ‘Lucy’s Fight’, a blog to share her experiences, tick things off her bucket list and raise money for MND Scotland.

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact: Press@JustGiving.com

About JustGiving

JustGiving is the world’s most trusted platform for online giving. We help people raise money for the charities and people they care about the most. In 2000, JustGiving.com began with one simple goal – to enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world. Fast forward 22 years and over £6billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world.