UK for UNHCR raises £87,625 in one week as part of Big Give’s 2025 Christmas Challenge 

London, 10 December 2025 – UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner in the UK, has raised £87,625 in one week as part of Big Give’s 2025 Christmas Challenge.  

Thanks to the support of Big Give donors, UNHCR will be able to deliver essential humanitarian support for forcibly displaced families and returnees in a number of hard-hit locations this winter, including Afghanistan and Ukraine.    

As temperatures plummet, these contributions will support UNHCR teams on the ground to repair homes that have been bombed, insulate houses to keep families warm, distribute blankets and winter clothes to children and older people, and deliver cash assistance to allow families to buy medicine, hot food and other essentials. 

Mark Hopkinson, UK for UNHCR’s Director of Fundraising, said: “We are deeply grateful to our supporters for their generosity and Big Give for their partnership. An incredible £87,625 raised in just one week is a testament to the strength of public solidarity for refugees this winter. 

“As temperatures drop below freezing in many regions, and humanitarian budgets are stretched to breaking point, it’s more important than ever for individuals, foundations and companies to stand with displaced people. Your support means everything for refugee families who are enduring unimaginable conditions this winter.” 

Big Give’s Christmas Challenge is the UK’s biggest public fundraising campaign, raising a record-breaking £57.4 million for over 1,500 charities this year, with over 152,000 donors participating. The Christmas Challenge doubles the impact of the public’s donations through match-funding from ‘Champion’ partners, such as Reed Foundation. 

At the end of June 2025, there were over 117 million individuals worldwide who were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict and human rights violations. UK for UNHCR’s winter campaign is one of the charity’s most important fundraising moments, and given the context of global humanitarian funding cuts, this year’s funds will be particularly critical. 

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Notes to Editor:  

For more information, please contact Isabelle Gius, [email protected].     

About UK for UNHCR:      

UK for UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency’s national charity partner for the UK. We build solidarity, create partnerships and raise funds across the UK to help deliver global humanitarian relief for refugees through UNHCR’s work. www.unrefugees.org.uk      

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. It delivers lifesaving assistance like shelter, food and water, helps safeguard fundamental human rights and develops solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. UNHCR also works to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. www.unhcr.org     

UK for UNHCR is a registered charity in England and Wales (registered charity number 1183415).