Christmas FM, the popular radio station that broadcasts in the lead-up to Christmas raised €412,021 for Barretstown, the station’s charity partner for 2019.
The original goal to raise funds of €250,000 would have allowed Barretstown to ‘press play’ on over 850 days of life-changing programmes for seriously ill children. However, due to unprecedented support, the station surpassed its own target target and the money raised will provide 1,400 days at Barretstown Castle in Co. Kildare.
The 2019 fundraising figure brings to over €2.25m the total amount of funds 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 the team and more than 100 volunteers on-air, who devote hundreds of hours of their time.
Paul Shepherd, Co-founder of Christmas FM, says: “We are delighted to have raised €412,021 with the success of this year’s fundraising campaign. We would like to thank all of our loyal listeners who tuned in and donated so generously to Barretstown this year. 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. We are also so grateful to the team as well as the volunteers who help make Christmas FM happen by assisting with the day to day running of the station.”
Dee Ahearn, CEO, Barretstown adds: “This is a fantastic achievement and we are overwhelmed by the generosity and support shown to Barretstown by individuals, businesses and communities across the country over the course of the campaign. I would like to thank the team in Christmas FM for choosing us to be part of this very special campaign. Special thanks also to the Christmas FM volunteers who worked tirelessly to surpass our target and I’d like to acknowledge our Barretstown campers and families who shared their stories so eloquently throughout the whole campaign.”
This year, Christmas FM was sponsored by FM Cadbury, Coca-Cola and An Post and the Ballsbridge Hotel which provided the space from which the station was broadcast.
