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Give the Gift of Childhood to those who need it most, because every child deserves Magic at Christmas.
About the Initiative
The Magic of Christmas brings together some of Ireland’s best known Children’s charities – Barnardos, Barretstown, Make-A-Wish Ireland and The Community Foundation for Ireland – to raise over €1 million in the next three years for children who need it most.
The funds will go directly towards helping vulnerable children in our communities affected by traumatic life events such as poverty, abuse, neglect and bereavement, and to supporting children whose lives are affected by serious childhood illness. By donating to The Magic of Christmas in December, you will Give the Gift of Childhood to those who need it most, because every child deserves Magic at Christmas.
About Barnardos
Barnardos is Ireland’s leading children’s charity working to give vulnerable children a better chance – because childhood lasts a lifetime.
Barnardos works with vulnerable children and families who have been affected by traumatic life events such as abuse, parental mental health, neglect, separation, bereavement & addiction.
Barnardos helps children and their families to build resilience, to believe in their capacities and to live with hope and positive expectations of and for themselves and their lives.
Barnardos provides warm nutritious meals in our breakfast and after school clubs, we give children a safe environment to play and learn in and we work with families to rebuild family relationships that have been broken.
We are a trauma informed organisation working directly with over 16,000 children and their families every year in 56 projects nationwide.
About Barretstown
Barretstown offers free therapeutic programmes at our unique specially designed campus in Co. Kildare and through outreach programmes in hospitals and schools throughout Ireland, for children and their families living with a serious illness.
When a child is seriously ill, their life becomes about everything they can’t do anymore, and they can stop feeling like a regular child. Even when they physically start to get better, the psychological scars of their illness, or that of their siblings, can remain, eroding confidence, diminishing self-esteem and coping skills.
Barretstown empowers and encourages each child to step out of their comfort zone and re-build their confidence through our medically endorsed therapeutic programmes. They start to discover the magic of being a child again.
In 2023 it will cost over €8 million to run our programmes and we receive just 2% funding from the government.
Since first opening our gates in 1994 Barretstown has brought the magic of our therapeutic programmes to over 85,000 children and family members.
Childhood stops for seriously ill children.
At Barretstown we Press Play.
About Make-A-Wish Ireland
Make-A-Wish® Ireland is a registered charity that grants wishes to children between the ages of 3 and 17 years living with life threatening medical conditions. Despite the impact of COVID-19 we are proud to say that we have continued to grant wishes to these incredible children. These children and their families need the hope, joy and lasting memories that a wish can bring. Researchers have studied the effects of granting wishes on children with cancer and found significant improvements in hope, positive emotions, health related quality of life and anxiety. To date Make-A-Wish® Ireland have granted 2,800 wishes. 2022 marks Make-A-Wish Ireland’s 30th Anniversary.
The funds raised through the Magic of Christmas campaign will help Make-A-Wish® Ireland reach more families than we have been able to in the past two years, and significantly increase the numbers of wishes granted in order for us to return to pre-pandemic numbers in 2023.
With your help, the funds raised this Christmas will go directly to granting wishes for children on our waiting list and for time sensitive wish requests from children living with life-limiting conditions. This couldn’t be achieved without the support of Christmas FM listeners.
About The Community Foundation for Ireland
We fund hundreds of innovative projects addressing education, children and youth, older people, homelessness and so much more. Our current position as one of the largest grant givers in Ireland has led to real progress on challenging issues including domestic violence, penal reform and progressing LGBT+ rights. With the generosity and solidarity of committed donors, we are not afraid of tackling challenging issues at their core. The Magic of Christmas Fund will be distributed to local, community focused charities across Ireland.
Get Involved
If you’d like to get involved with The Magic of Christmas this year please fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you. soon.