Over €1.1 million has been raised for St. Vincent de Paul since the Late Late on Friday night

Daniel and Majella O’Donnell showed their support for the cause on last week’s show

A huge €1.1 million has been raised for St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) since last week’s Late Late Show, when Daniel and Majella O’Donnell pledged their support for the charity.

The O’Donnell couple were interviewed by host Ryan Tubridy, and asked viewers to support SVP during this time. Majella read out a letter on air sent by a parent who contacted SVP when they were struggling to buy food due to a loss in income from Covid-19.

“When my Covid-19 payment application was refused, I was down to my last few euro and I actually borrowed some money from my children aged 13 and 16 to buy some bread, milk and cheese,” the letter read.

“The person on the line [at SVP] was understanding and considerate and promised to have some help for me that very day. I felt a great weight lifted off me immediately.”

The charity, in a statement released on their website, ‘sincerely thanked’ the Irish public for their generosity, and revealed that most of the donations they have received since Friday night came with the request to be used in a local SVP centre.

Kieran Stafford, SVP national president, said he was “so thankful” to the Irish people for their generosity, and that, in his 20 year history with SVP, the past few weeks have been the most difficult he has ever known.

“With the increasing need of SVP services across the country and income drastically reduced from the closure of our 234 shops and the cancellation of church-gate and shopping centre collections, finding public support is more important than ever,” he said.

Many donors left heartfelt messages with their contribution to the charity, encouraging solidarity among those who are struggling. One message read:

“When my three children were in their early teens and we had no money for badly-needed shoes, I went to SVP. I got the shoes and somehow we got through life and our children are all now wonderful citizens, paying their way and being generous to their community. I often think of this wonderful organisation and its kindness to me that difficult day. I am so happy to donate now and help someone else in my community going through the same.”

“We’re all in this together. Today it’s someone else… tomorrow it could be us.”

If you’d like to donate to SVP, you can go through their website, www.svp.ie ; call 0818 176 176 or donate by post to Society of St Vincent de Paul, National Office, SVP House, 91-92 Sean McDermott Street, FREEPOST, FDN5235, Dublin 1. DO1WV38