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The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for the UK’s most vulnerable communities. Many have found themselves facing real hardship - struggling to feed themselves and their families either because they couldn’t access food, or they couldn’t afford it.

Fareshare, funded by Comic Relief, redistributes surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. Jo and Angie run a community hub in Hebburn, and receive food from FareShare. At their height, they were providing 20 food parcels and 120 pack lunches a day to vulnerable people in their local area.

“So many people have lost their jobs this year. We had a family of four come to us who had nothing to eat but a packet of frozen sausages between them – they didn’t have a working lightbulb left in the house”.

Thanks to your donations to Sport Relief and The Big Night In, Fareshare have been able to meet the huge increase in need during the pandemic – doubling the amount of food they are redistributing. That’s enough to provide two million healthy meals a week. Food has made its way to over 11,000 frontline community groups nationwide – and into food parcels, packed lunches, breakfast clubs and temporary accommodation.

During Sport Relief, we told you about eight-month-old Emma. Emma lives with her mum, Fatuma, and grandparents, Abdi and Riziki, in a community near Kenya’s coast.

Emma’s family recently had to leave their home of 19 years, because they couldn’t afford to pay the rent anymore. Abdi, Emma’s Grandfather, found himself splitting what he earned between food for the family and building materials, for their new home he was building by hand. Riziki, Emma’s Grandmother, does what she can by weaving coconut leaves into thatch to sell, but the income is unreliable.

Fatuma was not only doing all of the hard work involved in being a mum to baby Emma, but she was also desperate to work and find new ways to support the family. Fatuma dreamt of one day making clothes to sell, but she needed a tailoring qualification, which felt completely out of reach.

Since Sport Relief in March, a project called AMURT has been helping mums in the area to access vocational skills. Fatuma is due to start a course in January ‘21 when schools reopen in Kenya. She’ll be trained in tailoring, and her dream of making clothes to sell finally feels possible. .

But that’s not all. Fatuma and Emma have both been receiving support from Janipher, a Community Health Volunteer who supports over 80 children and their caregivers. Janipher has also received training - funded in part with your donations - to help support babies, and their mums, to stay healthy and well.

Comic Relief’s Maternal Mental Health initiative was launched in 2016 with the aim of providing local support for women and families in the UK experiencing postpartum mental health problems.

Since Sports Relief 2020, Comic Relief have committed a further £483,619 of funding across eight organisations to support this vital work.

Justice Together is a new initiative aiming to create a more accessible UK immigration system, ensuring people who use the system can access justice fairly and equally. Comic Relief have committed £1.5m to this initiative over the next five years.

Harmless is a service that provides support to people in the UK that self-harm, as well as their friends and families, to reduce risk to those individuals and ultimately reduce suicide.

Since Sport Relief 2020, Comic Relief have committed a further £157,366 to help them continue providing this incredibly important support.

The Big Night In, the first ever Comic Relief & 大象传媒 Children In Need joint appeal was held on 23rd April 2020. It raised a whopping £74,026,927 including match-funding from The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The total was split between the two charities, with £30.5 million being distributed by Comic Relief.

Since The Big Night In, supported by your generosity, Comic Relief have made commitments of over £22.1 million to 229 organisations including those supporting the elderly and most isolated; services helping women facing rising levels of domestic abuse; and support for diverse communities who are experiencing racial inequality and disproportionately affected by coronavirus.

A number of these are large organisations with a national reach who can flow funds and much needed support to community organisations working on the frontline of the COVID-19 response, helping people most in need. These organisations include Age UK, British Red Cross, MIND, Crisis, Homeless Link, Women’s Aid Federations, Refugee Action & Migration Exchange, Rosa Women’s Fund and Buttle UK.

Additionally, The Big Night In has helped in the following ways…

Supported by the DCMS match-funding of The Big Night In, Comic Relief were able to offer over £6.5m of additional funding across 201 of our existing funded partners, to help their own emergency support activities and also to support themselves through the significant challenges presented to their work by COVID-19.

Over £3m was awarded to intermediary funders led by diverse communities experiencing racial inequality, using funding from the National Emergencies Trust (£2.75m) and funded in part by The Big Night In.

In light of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on these communities, these organisations are directing funds specifically to relevant projects in the UK.

There are a number of issues that LGBTQ+ people may face during the COVID-19 lockdown including social isolation, being forced to isolate with LGBTQ+ phobic families and being less able to access appropriate social support. £650,000 of Big Night In funds were awarded to Metro Charity to deliver important funding reaching local LGBTQ+ groups across the UK.