George Michael fans raise more than £279,000 for charity, including £46,000+ for Terrence Higgins Trust
A devoted community of George Michael fans known as Lovelies.help has raised more than £279,000 for charitable causes over the past nine years - including an extraordinary £46,500 for UK HIV/sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, with £25,000 directly supporting the charity’s THT Direct helpline.
The “Lovelies” is a term George Michael himself used for his fans on Twitter (now X). In April 2017, long-time Danish fans Tina Hindsbo and Katja Kafling founded Lovelies.help as a tribute to George following his passing.
Originally considering writing a book, they instead chose a more personal way to celebrate George’s generosity. Tina suggested that fans could donate spare or duplicate memorabilia, which could then be auctioned to other admirers - with 100% of every winning bid donated to a charity George supported during his lifetime.
Gill soon joined the team, followed later by Vicki, helping the project grow into a global fundraising effort.
All donations are made through JustGiving, meaning Lovelies.help never handles the money themselves. They run two to three auctions every single day of the year, pausing only on Christmas Day as a mark of respect.
Their impact was immediate: they reached their first £1,000 by 8 May 2017.
By November 2019, their total had exceeded £100,000. Today, they have raised £279,000 across 10 charities, each connected to causes George supported.
A huge thank you to Lovelies.help for their incredible support.
“Over nine years after George sadly passed away, people are still bidding and donating, which is brilliant!” Gill told Terrence Higgins Trust.
Gill explained that George Michael’s support for Terrence Higgins Trust was widely known. His commitment to HIV and AIDS-related causes was longstanding and heartfelt, most notably through the Concert of Hope at Wembley Arena on 1 December 1993.
George was a vocal supporter of HIV awareness and often wore the red ribbon symbol associated with Terrence Higgins Trust. Lovelies.help therefore selected the charity in keeping with their guiding principle: they only fundraise for organisations George supported during his lifetime.
In November, George’s lawyer Chris Organ - who is also a joint Trustee of the George Michael Fund with George’s sister Yioda - visited Terrence Higgins Trust’s London offices to unveil a moving memorial plaque dedicated to George’s life and legacy.
Gill described the significance of the moment: “Supporters of Lovelies.help came together with incredible love and generosity, raising £25,000 in George Michael’s memory to help fund the THT Direct telephone service.
"Visiting the offices with Lovelies.help team members Katja and Karen, alongside supporter Sam and George’s long-time friend and lawyer Chris, was profoundly special.
"Every item auctioned had been treasured by a supporter, and every winning bid was given in the same spirit of kindness that George showed throughout his life.
"To see that collective devotion transform into meaningful support for Terrence Higgins Trust was truly beautiful.”
Terrence Higgins Trust offered heartfelt thanks: “A huge thank you to Lovelies.help for their incredible support. Your dedication and hard work have made a tremendous difference to the services we provide, and we are deeply grateful for all you do.”
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