Vodafone UK will match the first £100k donated to We Love Manchester fund

By Rob Mukherjee | Head of North West Regional Business

I’ve been fortunate to spend the last eleven years of my working life in Manchester. Having grown up on Merseyside, the North West is part of who I am; the North West is where I’ve always felt I belonged. As a teenager, when I first moved east along the M62 to Manchester to work as an engineering apprentice, it was the city’s many great music venues that drew me – the Hacienda, Ritzy’s, 42s. A shared love of music is part of what makes Manchester such a special place.

After the horrific attack at Manchester Arena last week the city is in mourning, but the people are standing strong. I’m proud that Vodafone UK is standing in solidarity with the people of Manchester by fundraising for the British Red Cross Society’s We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. Over the next two weeks The Vodafone Foundation, a UK-registered charity, will match the first £100,000 in donations from our employees, friends and families, customers, suppliers and business partners.

How you can help us raise funds for Manchester

Here’s how you can help us raise funds for Manchester’s injured and bereaved:
• Text the JustTextGiving code, VWLM50, and the amount you’d like to donate (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to 70070, or
• To donate more than £10, visit this JustGiving page, click the “Donate” button and follow the on-screen instructions.

Manchester is where my colleagues and I work and many of us live. It’s difficult to put into words the horror and sorrow we feel at this attack on our city. About 1,000 of us are based at our Northern Hub in Wythenshawe, and each day our retail colleagues welcome customers to our city centre stores at the Arndale Centre and Market Street. Manchester is home to many of us at Vodafone UK, and we feel the trauma our community has suffered. To quote the poet Tony Walsh: “This is the place in our hearts, in our homes, because this is the place that’s a part of our bones.”

We want to do more to help, and with your support, we will.