The Sun’s Who Cares Wins Appeal has hit £1million in reader donations for NHS Charities Together.

The paper announced it had hit its target on today’s (May 4) front page.

The money will fund grants of £35,000 which support 220 hospital charities in looking after doctors, nurses and NHS staff working on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sun donated £50,000 to kickstart the appeal on April 4 which aimed to raised £1m in a month.

The head of NHS Charities Together, Ellie Orton, thanked The Sun and its readers: “Thank you so much to all the readers of The Sun for your kind donations.

“The money you have given is being used right now by NHS charities to support staff, volunteers and patients in this unprecedented crisis.”

Some of the biggest donations included £120k raised by Guinness World Record holder cyclist Mark Beaumont who raised the money doing a ‘World in a Day’ bike ride.

The endurance cyclist and his team of 79 other cyclists completed a 18,000 mile ride in one day for the Sun’s coronavirus appeal.

The team completed the ride on static bikes, each riding 240 miles in the homes. A £1 per mile sponsorship was given by former Motherwell football club owner Les Hutchison who donated in total £50,000 to the appeal.

The Sun reports that donations have so far helped to stock hospital canteens with free meals for NHS workers as well as toiletries and care packages.

Donations have also funded sleep pods, such as those used by doctors and nurses in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, as well as giving funds to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London to hire 11 pods.

The paper also reported its appeal was funding deliveries of iPads to coronavirus and critical care wards at eight hospital in the County Durham and Darlington area to allow patients and families to stay in touch via video calling.

At the launch of the campaign, The Sun’s Head of PR, Olivia Utley, told the SoE: “The Who Cares Wins Appeal aims to get vital support to staff in their hour of need. The Sun and its readers are proud to be helping Britain’s heroic NHS workers.”

For more information and to find out how to donate, click here.