ITV announces three charities to benefit from Text Santa 2015
Howard Lake | 8 September 2015 | News
ITV has announced that the three beneficiary charities of the Text Santa Christmas Appeal 2015 will be Macmillan Cancer Support, Make-A-Wish UK and Save the Children.
This is Text Santa’s fifth year, and so far the annual appeals have raised over £21 million for UK charities, while giving them considerable publicity. Last year it selected five charity beneficiaries.
This year’s Text Santa campaign will run from 1 to 18 December, during which members of the public will be encouraged to take part in a series of festive fundraising activities. The campaign culminates on Friday 18 December with an evening of TV entertainment which will showcase the work of the charities and how they help families in difficulty at Christmas.
The audience will be encouraged to donate by text, phone and online.
As in past years, the money raised will be shared equally between the charities.
Last year, the three-hour Text Santa show featured George Clooney starring in Downton Abbey, an I’m a Celebrity choir that saw McBusted take on jungle challenges and a rap battle between Alesha Dixon and Paddy McGuinness, plus appearances from celebrity supporters such as Brenda Blethyn, Simon Cowell, Carey Mulligan and Prince Harry.
The appeal raised over £6.2 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust, Guide Dogs, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Alzheimer’s Society, WellChild and Together for Short Lives.
More information on Text Santa and details of how both viewers and supporters can get involved will be revealed in the Autumn.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.