JK Rowling donates £1m to charity during lockdown

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has decided to donate £1m to domestic abuse and homeless charities during lockdown.

The writer said “the poorest and most vulnerable are hit hardest” in a crisis, as she announced the contribution.

Half of the mammoth sum will go to Crisis and the other half to Refuge.

Saturday marks the anniversary of arguably the most major event in her series.

“Today’s the 22nd anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts,” she said on Twitter. “But I’m going to be honest and say that it feels inappropriate to talk about fictional deaths today. Too many people are losing loved ones in the real world.

“So on this anniversary of a great wizarding victory, I’m thinking of the people who’re out there doing their jobs to protect us and our way of life.

‘As ever in a crisis of this sort, the poorest and most vulnerable are hit hardest…’
JK Rowling, author of Harry Potter series

“I have three key workers in my immediate family, and like all such relatives, I’m torn between pride and anxiety.

“As ever in a crisis of this sort, the poorest and most vulnerable are hit hardest, so in honour of the Battle of Hogwarts, I’ll be making a donation of £1m, half of which will go to crisis.org.uk, who’re helping the homeless during the pandemic and half of which will go to refuge.org.uk, because we know that domestic abuse has, sadly, increased hugely during the lockdown.”

Last month, Rowling said she had recovered after suffering “all symptoms” of coronavirus.

Although she hadn’t been tested she used a breathing technique to get air into the bases of her lungs and shared a video of a doctor advising how to do it.

In the video the doctor shows how to take deep breaths, hold the breaths and then cough, before lying flat on the stomach to allow air into the lungs.