Readers 'moved to tears' urge Londoners to donate to fund

They said the people featured in the campaign - such as Sandra Sanchez, the Treasury cleaner who lives below the poverty line, and Nabil Ahmed, the 18-year-old orphan who lovingly looks after his two disabled brothers - made them want to contribute to the Standard's £1million fund.

They also called on everyone who could afford it to donate.

Vicky Hawkins, 36, a theatre manager from Finsbury Park, said: "I started reading the Dispossessed campaign stories and some of them made me cry. I absolutely love living in London and I think it's a city with such great opportunities, but I find it so distressing that so many people have to struggle to live here.

"It's an embarrassment that so many people are living in poverty. Everyone who can should donate."

Alison Homeward, 50, who works in entertainment and lives in Ealing, said she could not afford to give away her money but that she was so moved by the story of Nabil that she donated anyway. She added: "I admire the new Standard and its campaigns and decided this was a very good cause."

Mick Kasmir, 67, a retired therapist from Ladbroke Grove, volunteers his time one day a week to help at a counselling charity.

He said: "I'm a Londoner and there are a lot of disadvantaged people in London. I think the Dispossessed is a really good initiative and it's good that the Government have agreed to double the money raised."

Tim Doyle, 30, a credit analyst from Bow, said: "I particularly remember the article about the treasury cleaner who lives in Hounslow and gets up at 4am. I don't have a lot of time for people who sit at home in front of their flat-screen TV, but I do for those who are actually working."

Steven Feldman, 59, a consultant and mentor from Muswell Hill, said: "I have been angered by the massive gap between the haves and the have nots in London. Your campaign captured that feeling so eloquently and prompted us to do something to help those nearest to us, to turn a blind eye would be a disgrace. This is just what a London paper should be doing. Thank you."