Social media publicity helps 99-year old war veteran raise £12m

Savvy use of social media by a 99-year old war veteran and his family has helped him raise more than £12m for NHS charities Together through a sponsored walk birthday challenge.

Captain Tom Moore had initially hoped to raise £1,000 through his attempt to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100^th birthday later this month.

But after achieving widespread attention for his charity walk across social and mainstream media he has raised a staggering £12.1m so far for NHS Charities Together, which represents around 150 NHS charities.

Social media promotion includes Youtube videos from celebrities, such as golfer Ian Paulter and Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton DuBeke, offering birthday messages to Tom.

A fundraising page has been set up via JustGiving. Meanwhile, Tom’s Twitter page has attracted 119,000 followers since launching earlier this month. On Twitter the fundraising attempt is using #walkwithtom and #TomorrowWillBeAGoodDay to generate further interest.

I’m Captain Tom Moore, war veteran, 99 years of age (soon to be 100) and I’m walking for the NHS to raise money for our heroes.t.co/M1dkvoV3kE

— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore)

I’m Captain Tom Moore, war veteran, 99 years of age (soon to be 100) and I’m walking for the NHS to raise money for our heroes.https://t.co/M1dkvoV3kE

— Captain Tom Moore (@captaintommoore) April 10, 2020