Heughan fan @peekaboo_jen led the charge on Twitter, organizing the fundraiser via hashtags, including the simple and sweet #HappyBirthdaySamHeughan. She began her campaign in March and continued in earnest through Heughan’s 42nd birthday on Saturday, April 30, 2022. She tagged Heughan in a sweet video on his birthday, revealing that his fans had amassed around $94,000 from 1,037 individual donations. The video begins with references to Heughan’s Sassenach Spirits, The Sassenach Blended Scotch Whisky and El Tequileño: The Sassenach Select tequila. “Happy 42nd birthday Sam,” the onscreen text reads. “We thought about getting you a bottle of whisky. But we figured you already had some. We also thought about tequila. But same deal, right?” The video then points out that on March 2, 2022, Heughan posted a video of the devastation in Ukraine on his Instagram page, urging fans to donate to UNICEF to support relief efforts for children and families impacted by the war in Ukraine. Russia first began its assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Since then, an estimated 6.5 million Ukrainians have fled their home country, but hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed in the ongoing conflict. According to the video, the 1,037 donations came from 972 people all around the world over the span of five weeks, racking up $94,410.49 for UNICEF’s efforts. The clip closes with a birthday wish for the actor that says, “May your day be filled with love, laughter, whisky, tequila, sparkles and cake.” Heughan caught wind of the campaign and was floored. He retweeted the video, gushing, “Absolutely incredible! Thanks for all the kind donations and [I’m] overwhelmed at the funds raised. So pleased it’s going to children and families affected in Ukraine.” As if that weren’t awesome enough, donations continued to rake in afterward, upping the total funds raised. “I just calculated an updated total, including the donations that have been made since the ‘final donation amount’ was posted,” @peekaboo_jen tweeted in the early hours of May 1, 2022. “We are now sitting at $97,110.49 USD. This was raised via an additional 25 donations, bringing total donations made to 1,062. Congratulations guys.” Chances are this is in the upper echelon of fan gifts Heughan has received. In early April, he revealed to Variety that Outlander fans are generous in sometimes strange ways. “We’ve had a variety of really interesting gifts. I think I received a crate of overripe avocados, homemade peanut butter, to a duvet with my face on it to crocheted dolls of myself,” he said. “I’m not sure if they imagined me sleeping with it, but um, you know, it’s good to remind yourself of who you are when you go to sleep.” Next, find out the best charities to donate to aid Ukraine relief.
