The Story of Christmas announced that last week’s festive event has fundraised a total of £810,000 for its nine chosen charities including CRASH, Place2Be, Restore the Music, SHP, Starlight, St Christopher’s Fellowship, St Mungo’s, The Tim Henman Foundation and We Are Beams.
Having taken place last night on Wednesday 14th December at St George’s Hanover Square, The Story of Christmas’ carol service featured music from The Band & Fanfare Trumpeters of the Scots Guards and The Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as nine festive readings from a number of leading British personalities such as John Hannah, Clare Balding as well as Ian Hislop, President and Aled Jones MBE, Deputy President of The Story of Christmas.
Dame Judi Dench, Lifetime President of The Story of Christmas, says: “A huge thank you to all of our incredible friends and supporters of The Story of Christmas. To raise £810,000 is a truly wonderful way to start Christmas, coming together to fundraise for our amazing charities who support so many in need throughout this time of year and always.”
Founded in 1978, The Story of Christmas aims to raise money for a series of chosen charities supporting a broad and diverse range of projects that benefit both the homeless, in-need and disadvantaged children. This year, the service will also be available for viewers to stream online from the comfort of their home. Available on The Story of Christmas’ website from Sunday 18th December, the annual carol concert is the ideal way to get into the festive spirit during the weekend before Christmas. Not only will consumers be able to enjoy the glitz and glamour of the magical festive evening but also donate to The Story of Christmas’ charities through their JustGiving page.
“We are thrilled to have raised £810,000 for our incredible charities following The Story of Christmas’ annual carol concert last night. In what has been a tough year for fundraising, we are delighted that The Story of Christmas has been able to continue to support our incredible chosen charities and we are very grateful to all our wonderful supporters. As well as supporting nine wonderful projects that fall within our typical remit, this year The Story of Christmas has been particularly conscious of the tragedy and loss created by the ongoing Ukraine crisis – and so we are supporting two initiatives that will help resettled Ukrainians here in the UK. For the first time ever, on Sunday 18th December we will be issuing the recording of our wonderful festive evening in the hope that viewers will enjoy watching it from home and support our work via our JustGiving page” comments Marc Corbett-Weaver, Artistic Director & Chief Executive.
Ian Hislop, President, states: “I would like to thank all those who have been so generous by supporting The Story of Christmas. The focused and effective organisations that we assist all need your help. I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and thanking you all for helping to make 2022 a bit merrier for some of those who are much less fortunate than us.”