Christmas FM announces this year’s official charity partner

Christmas FM is hoping to raise over a quarter of a million euros for this year’s official charity partner.

The festive station has announced the children’s charity Barnardos will benefit from donations, to help Give the Gift of Childhood this Christmas for over 5,000 children living in poverty.

Christmas FM will be celebrating its 14th year on air this year when it launches on FM in November and, since it began broadcasting, has raised over €2.7 million for a range of charities.

Garvan Rigby, co-founder of Christmas FM, says: “We have experienced the most unprecedented era in our lifetime over the past 18 months, and the children that Barnardos work with have felt this pressure acutely.

“Barnardos is a very special organisation who, now more than ever, need our help and we are delighted to be partnering with them for Christmas this year. Christmas FM creates a feel-good festive factor and brings people together when they’ve been apart for so long while broadcasting a unique and unrivalled service.

“We look forward to sharing that with everyone at Barnardos – staff, volunteers and, of course, all of the children who avail of its wonderful service. As sponsorship pays the running costs of the radio station, this means that all listener donations can go directly to Barnardos.”

Commenting on the Charity Partnership, Suzanne Connolly, CEO of Barnardos, says: “We are delighted to have been chosen as this year’s Christmas FM charity partner, so that we can share more about the impact of our work and raise vital funds to help us continue supporting children most in need.

“With the help of Christmas FM listeners, we hope to raise money to ensure we can provide nutritious meals to children in our centres, that we can continue to support them in their educational, physical and emotional development and that our specially trained teams can offer targeted therapeutic support to those who need it most.

“You can help us transform the lives of vulnerable children all across Ireland. Our gift of childhood partnership with Christmas FM, with your support, can make a difference.”

This story first appeared on Radio Today