CLAPHAM, LONDON – Following the destructive riot and looting, the local community was shaken and shops were badly damaged. Immediately, Clapham resident Heather Taylor decided to rally the locals via Twitter for a big communal clean-up. She quickly set up @RiotRemedy and a JustGiving Team page.
There’s nothing like seeing a community united, and we are glad our platform will allow an extended community online to support the clean-up, as well as helping charities tackle some critical underlying issues. We love it when people use JustGiving spontaneously, harnessing the power of social media for social good.
We caught up with Heather to tell us about how this all started:
On the night of the Clapham riots, I ventured out onto Lavender Hill just after midnight to make sure everything was OK. As I got to Lavender Hill, I could hear sirens and saw 15-20 people in pulled up hoodies and masks on the corner. People were walking down the road with stolen goods and others were just trying to make it home safe.
Back at home, I thought of the Vancouver riots and the way the community gathered so I sent out a Tweet asking who wanted to help me clean up Clapham. The next day by 3 pm we had 400 people on hand to help with the #riotcleanup.
After the generosity of everyone who came down to Clapham Junction on Tuesday, I knew we needed to continue these efforts throughout the country. To help keep the momentum going, I’ve set up RiotRemedy so people can give to community charities and agencies. As we cleanup, we also need to rebuild and look to the future of the communities we live in and love.
I used to work as a youth worker in inner city communities and know how much difference £5 and a pair of hands make. Shoulder to shoulder, we can make positive change and help restore our faith in humanity. This is why I came to JustGiving. I first met the team when they came to PayPal’s charity hack and spent day and night there trying to help developers create applications to support great causes. They’ve been an amazing help to get everything set up so fast so I’m pleased that we get the chance to work with them.
So please help support those people who are out in our communities everyday to make a difference. Donate at http://bit.ly/riotremedy and follow us on Twitter/ Facebook @RiotRemedy. If you need help in your community, tweet us at #riotremedy and we’ll help spread the word.
If you would like to support the local community and youth charities, please visit Heather’s Team page: http://www.justgiving.com/teams/RiotRemedy
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Tags: #riotcleanup, clapham riots, clean up, Home Start UK, Kids Company, london riots, riotremedy, The Place 2 Be, UK Youth, YMCA