Jon Snow's moral compass may have always pointed due north on Game of Thrones, but it seems that his real life counterpart is just as admirable as the former King in the North. As reported by People, Kit Harington donated to a fundraiser started by Game of Thrones fans, which they originally started in his honor as a thank you for all of the time and effort he put into the HBO series. The proceeds will be given to the U.K. charity Royal Mencap Society, which works with people with learning disabilities, and is an organization the actor has been endorsing since 2017 and proves to be near and dear to his heart.
The fundraiser had already reached 87% of its goal before Harington's donation of £7,728.75 (which is approximately $9,810.48) allowed the campaign to reach its target of £50,000 (roughly $63,000). Game of Thrones fans initially launched the fundraiser via JustGiving.com earlier this month in a gesture of support for Harington after it was reported that the actor was undergoing treatment for “personal issues” at a wellness retreat located in Connecticut.
“Kit Harington has given so much to the fans of Game of Thrones over the past decade playing the King in the North, Jon Snow. He absolutely nailed his performance and we loved every second of screentime we had with him,” the fundraiser description explained. “This fundraiser is here to show Kit that we’re incredibly thankful to him for the sheer amount of love and skill he put into Jon Snow for us to enjoy. To show our gratitude, /r/Freefolk and other fans want to contribute to the charity Mencap, which Kit has been supporting for several years." The fundraiser description added a short summary of what the organization does, explaining, "Mencap supports people with learning disabilities to live independent and fulfilling lives.”
It's a sweet sentiment, to say the least, and one that didn't go unnoticed by Harington. In fact, the 32-year-old actor made a point of sending along a message of his own when he made his donation, admitting that the kind gesture moved him to tears. He wrote:
“To those of you who set this page up in my name and to those of you who contributed and left messages, please accept my deepest and most heartfelt thank you. This donations page lifted my heart and brought tears to my eyes, what a beautiful gift to receive…how generous of all of you. Mencap is truly a wonderful charity and the money given here will go to the most incredible cause. With love and respect from beyond the wall…Kit x.”
The charity has always meant a lot to Harington on a personal level. In a post for the Mencap website, he wrote about having a family member with a learning disability. "The special relationship I have had with my cousin Laurent, throughout my life, has given me a privileged understanding of learning disability and the critical role that organizations [sic] like Mencap play in providing the care that makes an independent life possible," he wrote on the site. "It saddens me that there is still such a stigma attached to learning disability, which is why I became a Mencap ambassador. I want to help shine a spotlight on the vital work that Mencap and other providers do, it makes such a difference to hundreds of thousands of ordinary families across the UK."
And now, thanks to this latest round of donations, Harington is one step closer to achieving that mission.
