The 2021 Black Santa appeal at Belfast Cathedral has raised £150,000 to support the vital work of Northern Ireland charities.
This will be distributed to around 200 organisations at the annual Good Samaritans Service in St Anne’s Cathedral, which returns to in-person and will be held on February 6th 2022, having taken place virtually last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The 45th Black Santa Sit-out on the Cathedral steps began on December 13th and continued until Christmas Eve.
Black Santa himself, Dean Stephen Forde, said the sum raised had exceeded his expectations.
“On December 23rd, having reached £100,000, I issued the challenge for us to hit £150,000, and it is amazing that we achieved this,” Dean Forde said.
“The £150,000 totally exceeded my expectations in a year of restricted footfall, and when many of the Cathedral’s major events had been cancelled because of the Covid restrictions.”
The Dean said that while the total raised in 2020 was £220,000, the appeal that year had received a one-off legacy of £100,000.
“So this year we raised £150,000 in direct donations, compared with the £120,000 raised last year,” Dean Forde said.
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