20.12.2021
2021 St Ann’s Black Santa Appeal to be launched tomorrow in Dublin
Appeal off to flying start with major ‘Christmas party’ donation. Donations can be made online.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland and the Archbishop of Dublin Dr Michael Jackson will formally launch the 2021 Black Santa Sit Out at St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, on Tuesday December 21 at 1pm.
This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Black Santa Sit Out in Dublin. Over that time the annual appeal has raised over €700,000 for local good causes.
This year, once again, the sit out will differ from its usual format. To ensure the safety of everyone involved there will be no choirs on Dawson Street this year. However, St Ann’s caretaker, Fred Deane, and his team of volunteers will take to the streets right up until Christmas Eve appealing to the generosity of those passing by.
The 2021 appeal is off to a flying start already. It has received a generous donation of €10,000 from a major international company in lieu of the Christmas party it would have thrown for its staff. Eager to get started, volunteers were also out on the street shaking their buckets at the weekend.
While footfall in the city centre is inevitably lighter with people working from home and keeping themselves safe, this year, more than ever, the charities supported by Black Santa need support. The parish has opened its online donations page once again and donations can be made on the St Ann’s website www.stann.dublin.anglican.org
As always, every cent donated goes directly to the charities supported by Black Santa. These include the Salvation Army, The Simon Community and the Peter McVerry Trust, all of which work with homeless people and also Protestant Aid, Barnardo’s, St Vincent De Paul, the Laura Lynn Foundation and the Solas Project.
Black Santa in Dublin is modelled on a similar appeal, which has been run by successive Deans of St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for many years. It has become known as the Black Santa appeal because of the long heavy black cloaks worn by the clergy to keep out the cold. All the charities supported by Black Santa do invaluable work and every cent donated to the appeal is divided among them.