The 27th Newry Christmas Charity Lunch, which will take place on Wednesday 2nd December 2026 in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry from 12 noon – 3:30pm, was officially launched this week.
This year’s event will see six local charities that make a real difference in the Newry area throughout the Festive Season benefiting from the fundraising effort.
The nominated charities are:
- The Society of St Vincent de Paul
- Bolster Community
- Caring Coins Association
- Women’s Aid Armagh Down
- Simon Community
- Cuan Mhuire
The event is being supported by Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade and Newry BID. Both local business organisations announced at the Chamber’s Greater Newry Business Awards that they were stepping in to assist volunteers after the future of the event was cast into doubt due to various challenges in adapting to changing need in the area.
Since 2000, the annual fundraising event has raised more than £2.1 million for those most in need across the Greater Newry Area, thanks to the incredible generosity of the local business community, ensuring that no child in our local community went without a gift at Christmas.
Over the last 26 years, however, the challenges facing families have changed significantly. For many households, the greatest concern at Christmas is no longer what’s under the tree, but how to afford food, heating, clothing, essential household items and support during difficult times.
After careful consideration, the decision has been made to move away from the toy mountain model and instead focus efforts on supporting the wider needs of families through local charities at Christmas through cash and voucher donations.
Caroline Courtney, speaking on behalf of the volunteers involved:
“The pressures facing many families today require a different response and the generosity of the local business community can have an even greater impact by helping meet these essential needs.”
“While our focus is evolving, our purpose remains the same, supporting people within our community when they need it most which is reflected in our new logo, ‘Meeting Needs – Making a Difference’, marking this new chapter for the event, all whilst honouring its proud history.”
“We also want to make this year’s event the biggest and best one possible. So, we are encouraging our guests to donate cash instead of toys this year to enable us to make the biggest positive impact within our local community through our six chosen charity partners and we ask you give as generously as you can.”
“While the focus is changing to cash donations, the spirit of the event will be retained with a celebration of the fantastic work carried out by the nominated charities through an afternoon of fantastic entertainment and festive cheer including performances from our local schools and our local talented performers and we will have a few laughs along the way.”
“We are hugely grateful to the Canal Court Hotel for their very generous continued sponsorship towards the event and we are reaching out to other sponsors who supported us in the past and those who would like to sponsor this year’s event to contact any of the committee or contact Newry Chamber or Newry BID. All support will be greatly appreciated.”
All online bookings for the lunch and donations can be made through the Newry Chamber website at www.newrychamber.com or by the link HERE.
Tickets are priced at £70.00 + VAT each or £650.00 + VAT for a table of 10.
Conor Patterson, President of Newry Chamber said:
“Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade is delighted to be joining forces with Newry BID and the deeply committed volunteers to support this fantastic event which is an annual celebration of the generosity of our local community and our willingness to do what we can to support those families and elderly and vulnerable individuals in our community that need our support this Festive Season.”
“While the toy mountain initiative served its purpose in past years, the focus now is about empowering the six local charities to meet local need by providing the funding they require to support families and individuals across our community. The charities know best, so our aim is to give them the financial resources they need to provide the support that is needed now more than ever against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis.”
“We are asking businesses to buy tables for the event and if possible, come along to the event with a donation cheque or make a donation through the online donation link on the Chamber website. Now that the future of the event has been secured let’s make this year’s event bigger and better so that more families and individuals in need can be reached.”
Eamonn Connolly, Newry BID Manager commented:
“Newry BID recognises the huge importance of this event and we are delighted to be working with Newry Chamber and the fantastic volunteers to ensure the event continues for many years to come.”
“Everyone at the Lunch will have the opportunity to donate through the online portal or buy a raffle ticket on the night. If you cannot attend you can still donate through the Newry Chamber website or post a cash or voucher donation at the Newry Christmas Charity Lunch Santa’s Postbox which we will be installing in the lobby of the Canal Court Hotel.”
“There is a huge need in our local community and we need to raise as much as we can for our excellent local charities and we are encouraging all businesses and the wider community to come together and ensure that we meet the need of our local community and no-one goes without this Christmas.”