Black Santa begins his Christmas Sit–out
The 2019 Black Santa Sit–out for charities is underway on the steps of St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast.
This is the Very Revd Stephen Forde, Dean of Belfast’s, second full Christmas Sit–out, and as usual he is being joined by members of the Cathedral Chapter. He is pictured above with Down and Dromore’s Bishop–designate, Ven David McClay.
It’s the 43rd Black Santa Appeal and each year, the people of Belfast and beyond dig deep to donate funds which are distributed to more than 200 charities at the Cathedral’s Good Samaritans Service in February each year.
This year, Black Santa is going contactless, allowing people to make a donation with just a tap of a card. Bags of pennies collected through the year, notes raised at special events in support of the appeal, and small change dug out of a pocket are still warmly welcomed, as are online donations which can be made at www.belfastcathedral.org
Black Santa also has a new logo, and some special Black Santa items for sale as Christmas gifts – you can purchase a unique Black Santa ‘beanie hat’ to keep your ears warm on the coldest of December days (£5 each), with all profits going straight to the Black Santa Appeal.
The charities to benefit include groups working with mental health, the homeless, medical research, those caring for children, youth and the elderly, organisations working to improve employment opportunities, as well as a host of small charities which cannot afford paid fundraisers. A proportion of the money raised is also given to Christian Aid.
