Trocaire donation boxes have seen a 60% drop since the coronavirus pandemic began - with the charity now desperately calling on volunteers to send in funds they've raised any way they can.
The charity’s biggest fundraising campaign has been severely affected by the Covid lockdown, with many supporters unable to return their collections due to ongoing restrictions.
Travel and social restrictions, including the closure of schools and parishes, means most boxes have not been returned this year.
The longstanding charity's Easter appeal typically raises around €8 million each year, with around more than €5m, or around two thirds of this amount coming from Trocaire boxes.
Trocaire has warned that it now faces a massive funding crisis that will impact directly on the three million people who rely on its work overseas.
Chief executive 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. We are asking our supporters to please make your Trocaire box count.
“Please count or estimate what is in your box and donate the equivalent amount online, over the phone or via post. The funding crisis comes at a time when we are working to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in all 20 countries where we provide support.
“The contents of each and every Trocaire box, no matter how small, come together to make a significant difference to the lives of the people we help.”
