Serious Request raises €8.7m, Tijn’s nail varnish campaign hits €2.5m

tijn nail varnish campaign.jpgThis year’s Serious Request charity fund drive raised €8.7m for the Red Cross. Of this, €2.5m came from the nail varnish challenge launched by terminally ill Tijn, 6, organiser 3FM said.

The total will allow the charity ‘to help an enormous number of children,’ Red Cross director Gijs de Vries said.

Serious Request involves two djs from radio station 3FM locking themselves up inside a glass house for several days in the run up to Christmas. They play requests in return for donations and encourage others to come up with ideas to raise cash.

Tijn, who has incurable brain cancer, had hoped to raise €100. Tijn and his father began challenging people to agree to having their nails painted and make a donation of €1. If they refused, they were asked to donate €10 instead.

The campaign went viral on social media. Thousands of people, including prime minister Mark Rutte and dj Hardwell, painted their nails, made a donation and placed a photo online.

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