Christmas FM raises €284,000 for ALONE to enable the charity to provide over 20,000 hours of vital support to older people in Ireland
27 January 2021
Christmas FM, the popular radio station that is seen by many as the official soundtrack to the festive season, is delighted to announce that it has raised €284,107.12 for ALONE, their chosen charity for 2020.
This figure has well surpassed the original goal of €200,000, which would have enabled ALONE to provide over 20,000 hours of vital support to older people in Ireland enabling them to live happily and independently in their own homes and communities. The extra funds raised means that ALONE will be in a position to give even more help to those who need it, including practical supports such as access to all of ALONE’s services, befriending and adaptions to an older person’s home to allow them to age at home.
The 2020 fundraising figure brings to over €2.5 million the total amount the radio station has raised for a range of charities since its inception in 2008. The costs of running Christmas FM are covered by various sponsors, ensuring that all on-air fundraising and donations go directly to the charity partner. The station is run each year by a core management team, assisted by more than 100 volunteers who devote hundreds of hours of their time.
Paul Shepherd, Co-founder of Christmas FM, says: “We are delighted to have raised just over €284,000 for ALONE this year. We couldn’t have done it without our loyal listeners who tuned in and donated so generously to ALONE. We’re also thankful to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland for granting us the license to broadcast and our premier FM sponsors for the year – Cadbury, Coca-Cola and An Post. We would also like to thank the Ballsbridge Hotel who have, once again, provided us with a home for our radio studio. As ever, we are so grateful to the team and the volunteers who help make Christmas FM happen by assisting with the day to day running of the station – we couldn’t do it without each and every one of you!”
Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE says: “ALONE are honoured to have been selected as Christmas FM’s charity partner for 2020. We are so proud of the collaborative efforts between ALONE older people, volunteers, staff and the entire team at Christmas FM. Although donation day was the key focus of the entire partnership, I want to congratulate everyone involved for the months of hard work that went into telling the story of ALONE. There wasn’t a more appropriate year to use a tagline ‘Give the Gift of Home’ as our homes became our safe place during a worldwide pandemic. The kind donations generated through this partnership will help ALONE empower and enable older people to remain in their homes for as long as they wish. As we all know this is important now more than ever. Thank you!”
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) grants Christmas FM a 30-day temporary sound broadcasting license, which enables the station to broadcast on a range of frequencies throughout the country.
BAI Chief Executive, Michael O’Keeffe, said: “I would like to congratulate the team at Christmas FM for another fantastic fundraising result. Radio continues to be hugely popular in Ireland and its value as a medium to bring people together is once again shown by the success of Christmas FM – and the generosity of its listeners – in raising more than €284,000 in just 30 days for ALONE.”
This year, Christmas FM was generously sponsored by the premier FM sponsors Cadbury, Coca-Cola and An Post. Christmas FM was broadcast from the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin who kindly gave the space for free.
Christmas FM is still available online at
You can follow the station on social at
@christmasfm
