Undercover millionaire donates thousands to homeless charity run by Jewish friends
Team behind the Linkey Initiative were pleasantly surprised when a journalist covering their work turned out to be a generous philanthropist
A group of Jewish friends helping rough-sleepers in London had some good news this week, when an undercover journalist filming them turned out to be a millionaire who then donated a van and £15,000.
The team behind the Linkey Initiative, set up late last year, had the surprise after being filmed for Channel 5 show ‘Do The Right Thing’ with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, which aired on Thursday night.
“As part of the show we had a ‘reporter’ come to the house about a week ago to film us packing items for rough sleepers,” said Linkey co-founder Natasha Langleben.
The fake reporter, called Joe, went with the team out on to the streets to follow them doing drop-offs, before it was revealed by Langsford that Joe wasn’t actually a reporter but an undercover multi-millionaire.
Joe later presented them with a van to use for a year with the Linkey Initiative logo on it, plus essential items worth £15,000 for the homeless drop-offs.
When you discover that Joe Fournier isn’t a reporter but a multimillionaire entrepreneur…
????????
He’s so impressed with @Linkey_UK, he’s donating a van, time and loads of items! ???? #DoTheRightThing pic.twitter.com/suLL0GYoeY— Channel 5 (@channel5_tv) March 8, 2018
“We were completely shocked,” said Langleben. “It was all a complete surprise. One of the main items we needed to help us grow was a van to help with big drop offs. It will enable us to fulfil lots of opportunities including a recent large donation from a hotel which we can now collect and distribute among homeless shelters.”
Over the past week the Linkey team has sent essential items to 18 homeless shelters across the country, following a flurry of donations, perhaps prompted by this month’s severe weather.
“The shelters need these supplies year-round, as do rough sleepers who remain cold, wet and lonely even when it’s not snowing,” she said. “So we’re hoping for many more donations after the show!”
The social enterprise was started by a pair of Jewish siblings from Barnet after a chance encounter between Josh Adley from Finchley and an elderly homeless man outside Barnet Everyman just before Christmas.
The man had asked Josh whether he knew of any hostels or shelters nearby. Together with his sister, Natasha, the pair searched local shelters, but found most needed referrals. They later went to find the homeless man to no avail, before deciding to act by involving friends.
In February, they raised money for an £8 Valentine’s Day ‘homeless pack’ providing essential items for rough sleepers, including thermal gloves, a toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel and deodorant.
The number of people sleeping on the streets of England is now more than 4,700, the highest number since records began. The situation is exacerbated by councils fitting anti-homeless fixtures in public areas, such as metal bars across benches.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.