Kit Harington is taking inspiration from his fans when it comes to philanthropy.
The 32-year-old “Game of Thrones” star has donated nearly $10,000 to a fan-organized fundraiser started in his honor, People reported. He gave £7728.75 — which converts to $9810.48 USD — via JustGiving to the Royal Mencap Society, a UK charity Harington has endorsed in the past for its work with people with learning disabilities. Before Harrington donated, the fundraiser was at 87% of its £50,000 goal — about $63,000 USD.
Harington wrote a thank-you message to fans on the Mencap website that read, “To those of you who set this page up in my name and to those of you who contributed and left messages, please accept my deepest and most heartfelt thank you. This donations page lifted my heart and brought tears to my eyes, what a beautiful gift to receive …. how generous of all of you. Mencap is truly a wonderful charity and the money given here will go to the most incredible cause.”
Fans of the HBO show started the campaign earlier this month after Harington checked into a luxury rehab for stress and alcohol use as the show was coming to an end.
“This fundraiser is here to show Kit that we’re incredibly thankful to him for the sheer amount of love and skill he put into Jon Snow for us to enjoy,” the fundraiser page read.
Harington has previously talked about how a cousin lives with a learning disability. “My cousin Laurent is one of the 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK,” he said in 2017. “Growing up with Laurent I know that people with a learning disability have the same hopes and dreams for their lives as all young people do. However, others are sometimes awkward and afraid when it comes to engaging with someone with a learning disability and that means they are often ignored and overlooked.”
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