J.K Rowling donates £1m to help homeless and domestic abuse victims get through coronavirus

‘Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has donated 1 million pounds ($1.25 million) to help victims of domestic abuse and homelessness during the coronavirus pandemic after recovering from the virus herself.

The Harry Potter author, 54, took to Twitter on Saturday to make the announcement, which she thought was fitting on the 22nd anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

J.K. said with three key workers in her immediate family, she feels torn between ‘pride and anxiety’, as like the wizarding world we are faced with our own battle against coronavirus.

In the announcement, the author said she was dividing the money between two charities; Crisis, which helps homeless people and Refuge, a domestic abuse charity to help victims.

J.K. wrote: ‘Today’s the 22nd anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, 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. I have 3 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.’

In response to her generosity, Refuge tweeted: ‘This is wonderful news – and comes at a time when we have seen calls to our already overwhelmed helpline increase by 50% during Covid-19.

‘Our huge thanks, JK Rowling – your support will underpin our frontline specialist services and enable us to reach more abused women who need us.’