STV Children's Appeal raises more than £3m to support youngsters in poverty in Scotland

More than £3m has been raised by the STV Children’s Appeal throughout 2022 to support hundreds of thousands of children affected by poverty across Scotland.

The grand total of £3,172,589 brings the total amount raised by the Appeal since 2011 to over £32m.

Following a busy year of fundraising, Lorraine Kelly and Sanjeev Kohli hosted a telefundraiser broadcast on Friday from the Street Soccer Change Centre in Dundee.

During the show, viewers saw Line of Duty actor Martin Compston visit the Street Soccer club in his hometown of Greenock for a kickabout, and to learn more about how the charity supports young people through training and development opportunities.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also appeared during the show and described some of the challenges experienced by families during the cost of living crisis.

She said “every pound donated is more special, as it’s so much harder to come by”, and confirmed that the Scottish Government will continue its support for the Appeal.

Meanwhile a young Star Wars superfan was shocked after receiving a special video message from Ewan McGregor.

Callum Martin, who was diagnosed with autism and ADHD aged five, is supported by charity Outfit Moray which has received funding from the Appeal.

In the message, Ewan said: “I just wanted to say I’ve heard so much about you, and how brilliantly you’re doing with your activities at Outfit Moray.

“I just wanted to say I think you’re brilliant, keep up the good work, and may the force be with you.”

A special feature starring STV presenters Sean Batty and Laura Boyd was also broadcast during the show, where the pair competed in a series of surprise challenges set by young people as they travelled from Oban to Dundee by electric tuk-tuk.

Sean and Laura’s screams were audible across the Highlands when they were surprised with a bungee jump challenge to end their time on the road. They raised over £15,000 and told Lorraine it was worth “conquering their fears” for the Appeal.

There were many other supporters across Scotland who raised money for the STV Children’s Appeal this year, including long-running supporters Lidl, who raised over £111,000 through their staff game nights, bucket shaking, and cycling challenges.

Meanwhile Beatsons Building Supplies, who donated 50p from each bag of sand sold to the Appeal, raised over £21,000 and Tunnocks donated £10,000 during the STV Appeal Cup football tournament.

It was also the first year since the beginning of the pandemic that The Kiltwalk was able to resume its full schedule of live events, with thousands of participants raising over £93,000 for the STV Children’s Appeal.

Paul Reynolds, chair of the STV Children’s Appeal, said: “We are absolutely delighted to see such a huge amount of money raised for the STV Children’s Appeal, particularly given the difficult circumstances many people have faced this year.

“The continued kindness of our viewers, community fundraisers, corporate partners, STV colleagues and the people of Scotland is truly commendable and something that we celebrate every year through our Appeal show.

“We will now begin the process of immediately distributing these funds to incredible charities who work tirelessly to support the children and young people affected by poverty across Scotland.

“On behalf of everyone at the STV Children’s Appeal, I’d like to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone who fundraised and donated.”

You can donate to the STV Children’s Appeal 2022 by visiting stv.tv/appeal and you can watch the show on STV Player.