Guardian Hope Appeal Raises Over £750,000 to Support Charities Uniting Divided Communities
The 2025 Guardian Hope appeal has successfully raised over £750,000 for five charities: Citizens UK, The Linking Network, Locality, Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust, and Who Is Your Neighbour?. Launched in December 2025, the appeal supports grassroots charities dedicated to fostering empathy, building trust, and driving positive change on local issues including affordable housing, youth clubs, arts projects, and food banks.
This initiative comes at a time marked by extremist violence, anti-migrant rhetoric, and racism, aiming to promote hope and unity through community action. An example of the appeal's impact is Liverpool’s response to the 2024 Southport riots, characterised by solidarity among community and faith groups.
The appeal highlights several projects such as Locality’s Circle of Change project run by 174 Trust in Belfast; Back on the Map in Sunderland following the 2024 far-right riots; Who Is Your Neighbour?’s efforts to facilitate conversations on race and immigration; and SaSh (Hope Unlimited) — a Jewish-Muslim charity kitchen combating hatred and hunger.
Donors have shown strong support for these initiatives. Tony Armstrong, chief executive of Locality, expressed gratitude to Guardian readers for their contributions, which help create opportunities and hope for the future. The five charities deliver practical projects fostering empathy, building trust, and driving local change on critical issues like housing, youth, arts, and food poverty.
The Hope appeal is part of a Guardian series that highlights these partner charities and other community-led initiatives working towards unity and positive local transformation.
