Two of most popular cast members of the timeless show that recently ended, Game of Thrones, have been the center points behind a huge donation round recently. Around $200,000 were raised, and now, fans are asking the corporations behind the show to match these donations as well so that even more benefits can be brought to the people that these funds are dedicated to.
If you didn’t know already, Emilia Clarke, the actress behind Daenerys Targarean, commonly known as the “Mother of Dragons”, had to seek treatment twice due to brain aneurysms that threatened her life. This was a really stressful time for Clarke and the rest of the cast, along with anyone that knew what was going on at the time. We’re glad that she’s now safe, and we’re also thankful that she started a charity to support anyone that’s going through a similar experience with aneurysms similar to what she had while filming the show.
The ending of the show was pretty emotional for every fan on earth, and (spoiler alert), Daenerys’s death didn’t help matters in that regard. This is one of the reasons why fans decided to start the fundraiser in the first place.
The whole process started on Reddit – a specific subreddit, to be exact, which goes by the name of r/freefolk. They generally keep to themselves and aren’t known to people who aren’t familiar with the Game of Thrones community on the Reddit forum. However, it seems that they’ve made a choice to be known as they’ve been spreading awareness about this campaign on platforms other than Reddit as well. It’s pretty safe to say that their efforts have paid off far more than what anyone could have anticipated. It’s only been two weeks since they started, but they’ve already managed to raise around $130,000 for SameYou, which is the name of Emilia’s charity for people who need rehab after brain injuries.
The good news is that it’s only been two weeks since the start of this project, and we can expect to see even larger amounts raised in the upcoming days. Donors from all over the globe came forward in order to pitch in some money, and as awareness about this campaign spreads, we’re certain that an increasing number of people would be interested in making their own contribution.
Emilia’s reaction to the fundraiser was pretty amazing, and she thanked everyone for participating. When she first checked, only £38,000 had been collected, and she still made it clear that she had been blown away by the generosity and the efforts by her fans. We’re hoping those funds will be put to great use and help many people suffering from brain injury. Of course, Emilia was even more glad when she found out later on how far the fundraiser had come, and expressed her gratitude through a tweet of her lip-syncing Simply the Best, a song by Tina Turner.
This fundraiser isn’t all the good news, of course, since Game of Thrones fans weren’t done yet. They got together to create another campaign for Kit Harrington, the actor behind the protagonist Jon Snow, who’s one of the most beloved characters in the show. He had a pretty tough time filming for the last season and had to seek some self care after he was done. He went to a wellness retreat and stayed there for some time, quoting the stress that he had to face while the filming was going on.
He’s also stated that the most difficult time for him during the filming process was back when his character was killed off and then later (spoiler alert) revived. It’s understandable that being one of the main characters who got killed off in a cliffhanger could be an extremely stressful and trying time. Fans have got together and raised around $53,000 for his charity, Mencap, which helps people with learning disables. We’re certain that Kit loved the initiative. Fans were also quite pleased with Kit taking care of his mental health since it sets an example for thousands of people around the world who’re too afraid to do so given the stigma around mental health.
It’s great to see what a community can do if they get together for a good cause – everyone who participated has a lot to be proud of.