Grenfell Tower fire: How we used your donations

The British Red Cross has been helping people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire since the early hours on the day it started.

Since then, more than 600 British Red Cross volunteers have supported over 1,700 people. This has ranged from providing practical and emotional support in rest centres to helping sort 40,000 boxes of donated goods.

We also launched the London Fire Relief Fund, which has raised an incredible £7,53 million. Every penny will go to survivors and their families.

To date, we have transferred £7.3 million to LET – the London Emergencies Trust – which is giving grants to people affected by the fire.

Most of the remaining London Fire Relief funds will soon be given to the bereaved and people who lived in Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk.

Shop for Grenfell

In the aftermath of the tragic fire, the British public felt incredibly moved to help those who lost everything.

Hundreds of tonnes of items were donated and collected by Kensington and Chelsea Council. We then used our expertise in logistics and running charity shops across the country to take on the colossal task of sorting these donations:

• Shop for Grenfell has raised an amazing £226,000 for the London Fire Relief Fund.
• Every penny from Shop for Grenfell goes to those affected by the tragic fire.
• More than 200 tonnes of items were generously donated by the British public. British Red Cross volunteers sorted through every single item.
• There were around 40,000 boxes full of items – enough to fill three full-size football pitches.
• 41 tonnes of new or almost new items were sorted and returned to the Grenfell community to be distributed.
• More than 100 tonnes have been sold in our shops and 66 tonnes of items were sold for recycling to raise funds for the families affected.

How the grants work

Money from the British Red Cross London Fire Relief Fund was given first to people who were bereaved and seriously injured. It was then distributed to each of the 140 households from the Grenfell Tower and 26 households in Grenfell Walk.

The distribution was done by LET and included money raised by the British Red Cross as well as funds donated directly by other organisations. The grants included:

• to the next of kin of each person who has died – £100,000
• to each person who was seriously injured and needed to stay in hospital for over seven days – £30,000
• to each person who spent between four days and one week in hospital – £10,000
• to each person who spent over six hours in hospital – £3,500.

We also distributed just over £1.5 million to all the households in the tower and Grenfell Walk through another partner, Rugby Portobello Trust.

In addition, we set aside £100,000 to help bereaved families travelling from overseas to the UK to take care of their loved ones’ affairs. Working with LET and other community groups, we are making sure the remaining funds are handed out as quickly as possible.

To find out more, please visit the LET website.

What if people need more help?

People affected by the fire who need more information can talk to their key worker or family liaison officer for other kinds of support, such as help with funding applications.

More information is also available on the government's website.