Anti-Birthday campaign raises thousands to #EndDetention
BID’s legal advice services receive a welcome boost in funding thanks to the generosity of donors to the campaign.
BID’s legal advice services receive a welcome boost in funding thanks to the generosity of donors to the campaign.
The money was raised as part of our Anti-Birthday campaign which ran from June to September to highlight the ongoing failure of the UK immigration detention system.
The campaign encouraged people to make an Anti-birthday gift to mark BID’s 20th year of fighting to end detention. Each pack was themed around different challenges that our clients experience in detention.
The £15 Communication pack could help address barriers to justice by contributing towards interpreting, postage and telephone fees.
The £30 Prison Pack could help cover the travel costs for our team to visit people detained in prisons and provide face-to-face legal advice to help them fight for their freedom.
The £60 Advice Line Pack could keep our advice line running for a whole morning.
The £250 Evidence Pack could make a significant contribution towards getting expert evidence to help clients overturn a deportation order.
The money raised was equivalent to over 400 of the £15 packs, which will make a significant difference to supporting people in detention.
People got really creative with their fundraising ideas including Lauren Parker who quit smoking and donated £5 for each smoke free day. She even matched donations for the first 7 days!
Today I quit smoking 🙄, & for the next month, for every day I don’t have a cigarette, I’m going to donate £5 to @BIDdetention for their Anti-Birthday Campaign.
For the next 7 days I will match your donations too. Just DM me your receipt.#EndDetention https://t.co/tPJ8X7zKC7
— Lauren Parker (@LParker_tweets) July 13, 2019
Many took the opportunity to reflect on what BID has meant to them over the past 20 years:
Hi all, Milla here! @BIDdetention instrumental in lighting the fire that has kept me in immigration legal aid working with the most vulnerable for 14 years... and still not beaten yet! pic.twitter.com/DdA1KwEq1u
— Luqmani Thompson (@ltpsolicitors) June 20, 2019
BID was set up in 1999 with £300, 1 paid coordinator and 15 volunteers who supported 318 people that year. Over the following two decades BID has provided free legal advice to 45,000+people in detention. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated as part of this campaign. We won't give up until we #EndDetention and are so grateful to have your support.
Celia Carke, BID Director, said: “We’d like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone for their incredibly generous support. Our determination to end detention is continually strengthened by the incredible community of BID supporters who share our vision of a world in which no one is detained for the administrative convenience of the government.”
This campaign is now closed but if you would still like to support BID’s work donations are always gratefully received and can be made through our website.
