Ellie Goulding joins charity to give 400 phones to the homeless amid coronavirus outbreak

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Ellie Goulding has joined forces with Crisis to support people who are homeless in the coronavirus outbreak by sourcing 400 phones to help people stay connected.

Distribution of the phones, from network provider EE, begins today (April 15), with Goulding saying she is “determined to keep them connected.”

The singer, who is a long-term campaigner of ending homelessness, said: “We’re all worried about coronavirus, but people who are homeless are particularly exposed to and threatened by the pandemic.”

She added: “Over the last few weeks we have seen an unprecedented and phenomenal effort to rehouse people sleeping rough by the government, local authorities and homelessness charities, but I have remained very worried about how many people will still need support. I’ve been determined to help keep them connected.”

Goulding teamed up with her management team, TaP Music, for the campaign to source mobile phones preloaded with £20 data to supplement Crisis’ supply.

“After calling many companies, we’re really grateful to EE for delivering and working with us to help with this emergency for people facing homelessness” says Ben Mawson of TaP Music.

The phones sourced by Goulding and TaP Music will go to people that Crisis supports, as well as those currently in hotels across London.

This comes after Goulding joined Biffy Clyro, Machine Gun Kelly, Bastille and more to a line-up for Twitch’s live-streamed coronavirus fundraiser in March.

The ‘Stream Aid’ event went underway on March 28 aiming to raise funds for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to stymie the spread of COVID-19.

Viewers will be able to donate to WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund via the streaming link.

Anybody who is inspired by Ellie Goulding to contribute to supporting people who are homeless during this period, can donate at In This Together, the homelessness emergency fund.

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