The Guardian has launched its annual charity appeal for 2025 with a powerful and urgent focus on fostering hope and community cohesion in the face of rising social division and hatred.
A Direct Response to a Toxic Climate
Launching on Friday, the appeal arrives during what the newspaper describes as a year marked by unsettling social division, anger, and unrest. The backdrop includes escalating extremist violence, a fever pitch of anti-migrant rhetoric, and far-right activists marching in UK streets. There are also reports of a resurgence in "1970s-style racism" targeting NHS staff, care workers, and charities.
Against this toxic climate, the appeal unapologetically champions hope. It will support five grassroots charities that work directly within local neighbourhoods to nurture community pride, drive positive change, and provide a powerful antidote to polarisation and distrust.
The Five Charities Building Bridges
Donations will be shared equally between five partner organisations: Citizens UK, The Linking Network, Locality, Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust, and Who is Your Neighbour? Each operates in some of the UK's most economically deprived areas, tackling challenges from eroded public services and civic spaces to deep-rooted poverty and dashed aspirations.
Their practical work is vast and vital. They campaign for better housing and health services, restore abandoned libraries and parks, and run food banks, skills initiatives, and youth clubs. They also facilitate neighbourhood festivals, arts projects, and refugee welcome schemes. Crucially, their approach is built on respectful, empathetic conversations that bring together people of different cultures and faiths to find common ground.
Investing in Community as a Defence
As the partner charity Locality states: "Our communities are the beating heart of a fairer society and a defence against hatred – places where everyone should feel safe, valued, and that they belong. Now, more than ever, we must invest in hope, and in the people who make it real, day after day, on the ground."
The Guardian acknowledges that charity alone cannot mend years of austerity, extreme inequality, or damaged public services. However, the appeal aims to showcase what is possible through community action and to celebrate social justice. Over the past decade, Guardian readers have raised an incredible £15 million for good causes through the annual appeal, supporting themes from child poverty and the climate crisis to the Windrush scandal.
The charity appeal telethon will take place on Saturday 13 December, where Guardian journalists will answer calls and accept donations. Furthermore, The Guardian Bookshop will donate 20p from every order received until 31 December to the appeal.
The message is clear: in a fragmented society, supporting these grassroots efforts is an active investment in connection, resilience, and a more hopeful future.
