Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHARITY’S PLEA FOR RETURN OF LENT BOXES
Trocaire donations down 60%
IRISH aid agency Trocaire has launched an urgent appeal for people to return donations from their boxes online or over the phone.
The charity warned a 60% decline in donations to its Lent Appeal has put many of its programmes at risk.
Trocaire’s annual fundraiser raises approximately £7.1million each year with two thirds of this money coming from the boxes distributed through schools and parishes. Travel and social restrictions because of Covid-19 means most have not been returned this year.
Chief Caoimhe de Barra said: “People all over Ireland fill their Trocaire boxes to support the world’s poorest people, but the closure of schools and churches means that support is not getting through.
“Thousands of boxes are sitting in homes across Ireland. Unless these generous donations are returned, we won’t be able to provide life-saving support to some of the poorest people in the world.
“Please count or estimate what is in your box and donate the equivalent amount online, over the phone or via post.
“Many parishes have their own local arrangements in place for collecting Trocaire boxes, so people can also contact their local parish to see if it is possible to return their box within social distancing guidelines.
The funding crisis comes at a time when we are working to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in all 20 countries where we work. “People in countries like Somalia and South Sudan are incredibly vulnerable to this virus, while lockdowns and travel restrictions have plunged millions more into extreme poverty.”