“The support we’ve seen has been amazing”

Flora Gordon is a fundraising officer at Women’s Aid

“Before lockdown, my job involved supporting people’s fundraising activities. I also managed running events and occasionally went into universities to talk to students about how they could help raise money for Women’s Aid. Obviously, Covid-19 has changed everything. All our running events this summer have been cancelled, and our access to educational institutions has been severely limited. Our focus now is on encouraging supporters to keep fundraising, because it’s such a challenging time.

Fortunately, the support we’ve seen has been amazing. People have been taking part in virtual challenges to raise money to fund our online live chat service, which is a vital lifeline for women experiencing abuse. London City Voices Choir recorded a cover of You’ve Got A Friend over Zoom that has raised over £40,000 so far. One supporter did 1,000 laps of her back garden on her bike; it took her 12 hours and she raised over £12,000.

Another has raised over £2,000 by swimming the length of the Channel in the pool in her garden. Personal trainer and Women’s Aid ambassador Alice Liveing raised over £15,000 for us by hosting live daily workouts in her living room. We even had a seven-year-old boy raise over £100 for Women’s Aid by printing tote bags. It’s been brilliant to see people’s creativity.

“Covid-19 has changed everything”: what it’s like to work in domestic abuse services during lockdown