TY - JOUR
T1 - Embodied philanthropy and Sir Captain Tom Moore's “Walk for the NHS”
AU - Wade, Matthew
AU - Hookway, Nicholas
AU - Filo, Kevin
AU - Palmer, Catherine
PY - 2022/8/1
Y1 - 2022/8/1
N2 - Recent decades have witnessed growing popularity in embodied philanthropy, where participants undertake various types of publicly displayed bodily labour in support of their respective causes. The fundraising potential of such efforts reached extraordinary heights during Sir Captain Thomas Moore's “Walk for the National Health Service,” wherein the 99-year-old World War II veteran walked laps of his garden to raise funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within less than a month “Captain Tom” raised over £30 million, the highest amount ever by an individual charity walker. To better understand the social and cultural drivers behind Moore's incredible popularity this article applies Julie Robert's theoretical framework of embodied philanthropy, exploring the multivalent semiotic potential that Moore radiated through his age, disability, military adornments, Yorkshire grit, and unfailingly positive, aphoristic style of speaking. During a time of global crisis, this distinct array of bodily affordances enabled Captain Tom to simultaneously serve as an honest broker, teacher, exemplar, rallying figure, and ultimately martyr. Such practices of sacrificial citizenship, however, raise troubling questions, particularly in relation to expectations that fellow citizens should likewise stoically uphold civic-minded resilience during times of crisis. Furthermore, while the potential benefits can prove extraordinarily impactful, organizations should exercise care in too readily attaching themselves to particular causes, lest they become complicit in contentious agendas or even inadvertently mislead donors.
AB - Recent decades have witnessed growing popularity in embodied philanthropy, where participants undertake various types of publicly displayed bodily labour in support of their respective causes. The fundraising potential of such efforts reached extraordinary heights during Sir Captain Thomas Moore's “Walk for the National Health Service,” wherein the 99-year-old World War II veteran walked laps of his garden to raise funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within less than a month “Captain Tom” raised over £30 million, the highest amount ever by an individual charity walker. To better understand the social and cultural drivers behind Moore's incredible popularity this article applies Julie Robert's theoretical framework of embodied philanthropy, exploring the multivalent semiotic potential that Moore radiated through his age, disability, military adornments, Yorkshire grit, and unfailingly positive, aphoristic style of speaking. During a time of global crisis, this distinct array of bodily affordances enabled Captain Tom to simultaneously serve as an honest broker, teacher, exemplar, rallying figure, and ultimately martyr. Such practices of sacrificial citizenship, however, raise troubling questions, particularly in relation to expectations that fellow citizens should likewise stoically uphold civic-minded resilience during times of crisis. Furthermore, while the potential benefits can prove extraordinarily impactful, organizations should exercise care in too readily attaching themselves to particular causes, lest they become complicit in contentious agendas or even inadvertently mislead donors.
KW - martyrdom
KW - fundraising
KW - embodied philanthropy
KW - crowdfunding
KW - COVID-19
KW - citizenship
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127233661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/nvsm.1747
DO - 10.1002/nvsm.1747
M3 - Article
VL - 27
JO - Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing
JF - Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing
SN - 1465-4520
IS - 3
M1 - e1747
ER -