Black Santa Appeal 2023 raises almost £171,000

Wednesday January 10th 2024

Dean Stephen Forde has announced that the Black Santa Appeal 2023 raised almost £171,000 for local charities.

December’s Black Santa Sit-out on the steps of Belfast Cathedral raised almost £171,000 – far exceeding Dean Stephen Forde’s target of £130,000.

Thanking all who donated to the 2023 Appeal, Dean Forde said the total raised in this – the 47^th annual sit-out – was £170,928.22.

The 2023 appeal focused firstly on helping smaller local charities who are supporting the most disadvantaged families and individuals struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Another focus was charities working with those impacted by drug abuse in Northern Ireland, and a third priority area was charities and organisations who are offering bereavement support services in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

The 2023 sit-out got underway on December 14 with the support of the Bishops of Connor and Down and Dromore, along with a visit by Belfast’s Lord Mayor, and over the next 10 days Dean Forde and his band of assistant Black Santas, made up of Canons of the Cathedral, clergy and other supporters, kept a daily vigil on the Cathedral steps, whatever the weather.

The sit-out finished at 4pm on Christmas Eve, when the Dean turned his attention to the various Christmas services which also drew crowds to St Anne’s.

The funds raised by the Appeal will be distributed to local charity representatives at the annual Good Samaritans service which takes place early next month.

To reflect on the 2023 sit-out and learn of of the vital work of just a screenshot of the myriad of charities supported, we share some moments from Dean Stephen’s ‘Black Santa Diary,’ as published by the Belfast Telegraph during the course of the 2023 sit-out.

Friday December 15 – It’s hard to believe that it is a whole year since I, as the Dean of Belfast, last stood on the steps of St Anne’s Cathedral, wrapped up warm in the distinctive black cloak which gives the Belfast Black Santa Sit-out its name…

Why do I do this as Dean of Belfast? Surely it is because, deep down, we all recognise that Christmas cannot just be about ourselves.

This year, the Black Santa Appeal will be supporting local charities in three areas of special need in our communities today. The cost of living crisis is real for so many families across our province. For too many families the weekly wage no longer meets essential needs. When people have to choose between heat and food, we know that there is real need in 2023. The charities that Black Santa will support this year are working on the front line of this need.

The second area of support, from Black Santa in 2023, is for those charities working to help the families and individuals most impacted by drug abuse. Drugs are readily available in cities, towns and rural communities. Drugs destroy families, and drugs destroy lives. And too often drug addiction leads to families gathered around the graveside of someone taken from them too young. Those charities which understand and can make a real difference will be in line for special assistance, from this year’s appeal.

And finally, charities supporting those who lost loved ones through the Covid pandemic. The pandemic still casts a long shadow over too many lives. With the support of ordinary people from far and wide, this year’s Appeal will be able to help most those local charities whose passion is to help others.

We all know that the season of Christmas is truly about giving. May this year’s sit-out be a true expression of the generosity of our community to our community.

Monday December 18 – This year the Belfast Black Santa Sit-out runs for 10 days. As I arrived at the Cathedral on Friday for what would be a twelve-hour stint on the steps of the Cathedral, it seemed like this would be a long day. Fortunately, the weather was mild. Yet, on Friday morning, at the beginning of the sit-out, those ten days can seem like a long haul to Christmas.

But two things ensure that I do not view the sit-out in any such negative terms.

First, even though the Translink workers are taking two days of industrial action in pursuit of their wage claim to meet the cost of living crisis, at the steps of the Cathedral there has been a steady stream of people passing. People will do what it takes to make their donations. It is that desire by people from every walk of life to make their Christmas gift, so that others who are struggling may receive something more, which ensures that the Dean is happy to stand on the steps for the long haul. This is a light in dark times.

The other motivation is for those who will be helped by every penny raised for the Black Santa Appeal. A parent whose daughter or son is held in the grip of drug addiction, is a parent who is ‘in it for the long haul.’ And those charities supporting families and individuals in the area of addiction know that they too are ‘in it for the long haul.’

And families watching the gas or electricity meter run down to the last pennies, know that heating and feeding a family means sticking to it for the long haul. They will be turning to charities who know that there is no quick fix. It is this determination to keep going through the most challenging of times, and to be supported by those who understand and care, which keeps hope alive even when all looks hopeless. Light in dark places. Hope in place of despair. These are the most important gifts of Christmas.

These are the gifts which the Black Santa Appeal makes possible of the generosity of each person who gives.

Tuesday December 19 – For me, what makes standing on the steps of Belfast is the people who call by to give.

There are tourists to the city who have never heard of the Sit-out Appeal, but who give generously when they discover that every penny given is given away in February. There are children and pensioners who have gathered up their loose change over the year, and place heavy bags of coins into the familiar barrel. There are those heading into the shops who are happy to make a credit card donation. Some arrive on foot. Some cycle from beyond the city. Some stop their cars and wind down a window. Each makes a point of stopping in Donegall Street, so that each can give something that will make a huge difference to others, even on those days when the buses and trains were not running.

Wednesday December 20 – “How are you?” It’s a question we often ask, especially when we meet up at Christmas with someone we haven’t seen all year. And sometimes we’ll ask “How are you feeling?” But do we really want to know the answer?

We’re happy if the answer is “I’m great, how about you?” But what if the reply is “I really don’t know how I’m going to cope?”

Mary takes centre stage in the Christmas story. In every school nativity play, Mary is the one who receives the news from an angel that she is to be the mother of the baby who will change the course of history, a child who will rescue his people and bear the name Jesus, which means ‘Saviour.’ But did anyone ever ask Mary, in the days after the angel’s visit “How are you?” “How are you feeling?”

In today’s world we might put the question differently, “Mary, how is your mental health, your mental wellbeing?”

We know from the biblical account that Joseph “was minded to put her away privily.” Mary, perhaps a girl of about 15 years, was pregnant, and her fiancée, Joseph was not the father. Despite the angel’s assurances, during her pregnancy Mary must have had some very dark thoughts about what the future could hold for her and her precious baby.

The mental wellbeing of women both before and after the birth of their child is something seldom discussed, especially if a new mother finds herself in a dark place. One of the charities which the Black Santa Appeal supports, ESC Films, has worked through film workshops and creative engagement, with mothers who struggle with their perinatal mental wellbeing, sometimes called post-natal depression.

The donations which are made to this year’s Black Santa Appeal can make a lifetime’s difference to a mother whose experience at the time of their child’s birth is an experience of emotional and mental struggle.

So if you hear the biblical words “And Mary pondered all these things in her heart,” perhaps take a moment to wonder “What was she really feeling?” And then be thankful for those today, who the support of Black Santa, are able to listen to a struggling mother’s answer.

Thursday December 21 – When you are the person who is Belfast’s Black Santa, you take a very keen interest in the weather forecast for the 10 days leading up to Christmas. When the rain falls and a fierce wind blows down Donegall Street, then the task of being Belfast’s Black Santa becomes particularly challenging. The weather forecast for Thursday predicts strong winds and heavy rain. And Black Santa predicts that in just such weather, the cold winter rain will leave Black Santa very soggy and very wet.

This is when I remind myself why it is that I am standing in Donegall Street. I and my helpers do this because across Northern Ireland, there are far too many people who know what it is to be cold and wet, and to be outside in the weather, not because they choose to be, but because they have no choice. Some will be homeless. Some will have a home, but they cannot afford to heat it. Some will use the kettle only once a day, and then fill a thermos to save in electricity.

And it is not just in the cities where people are struggling. Rural poverty is a reality across this province. Farming is always a hard life, out of doors in all weathers. But when faming doesn’t pay, that hard life can become intolerable. And in the country, every journey to the nearest town or supermarket, is a car journey when fuel is expensive.

The Fermanagh Rural Network Community is one of the charities working far from Belfast, which the Black Santa Appeal supports. This is an organisation which advocates for the rural communities that can be forgotten by the policy makers at the centre of power. And as a network across rural communities, the Fermanagh Rural Community Network makes connections and works to reduce rural isolation.

As the wind blows stronger, and the rain trickles down the Black Santa’s neck, you might be tempted to stay indoors, and avoid giving a donation in one of Belfast’s windiest streets. Well if you do, you can always make your donation online, while the wind blows and the rain falls in Belfast and in Fermanagh.

Friday December 22 – At St Anne’s Cathedral we are busy getting ready for our Christmas [services]… But the business of collecting for the Black Santa on the steps of the Cathedral will continue right up to 4pm on Christmas Eve. The weather forecast for rain and stormy winds proved to be only too accurate. Those shopping in Belfast had to battle the gales, and Black Santa and his helpers got thoroughly soaked!

But for anyone who is having to sleep rough, or for a family forced to leave their home for safety, and for those who find themselves refugees, the rain and the wind, will be the least of their problems. For the volunteers of the People’s Kitchen working in North Belfast, or the volunteers with the Samaritans who will mind the phones over the Christmas period, or Aid partners working in the rain of Gaza, or any of the other 130 charities that Black Santa hopes to support, what matters most is the generosity of those who choose to give.

Perhaps Christmas is the best time to look around at family and friends, and in the old phrase to ‘count our blessings.’ From the gift of the Christ Child who is the heart of Christmas, may we each be generous for those who lives will be changed from Black Santa’s barrel. Every penny given to the Black Santa Appeal is given away again to those special local charities who know our local needs best.