Standing on the shoulders - the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal passes £1 Million

Editor's note. We've published several photographs from the homeless photographers group at St Martin-in-the-Fields since the Christmas Appeal started. This snowy scene by Blodeuwed really emphasises how hard this Winter has been for homeless people. If you haven't made a donation yet, you can do so on the Radio 4 web site - SB.

One million pounds for the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. Yes, you read that right: one million pounds for the Christmas Appeal and we are still pinching ourselves!

Last year we reached almost £900,000 - that was remarkable but we know that appeals don't have a right to increase year-on-year and life is tough for many people at the moment.

Gwyneth Williams, Controller of Radio 4 says:

This is a wonderful result, particularly given the difficult economic times. Evidence, once again, of the generous kindness of Radio 4 listeners and the importance of the work being done at St Martin-in-the-Fields for vulnerable people in London and across the UK.

The one million is, of course, made up of many thousands of donations - including one gift of £2 given by someone who is currently homeless.

This appeal clearly has a very special place in the hearts of many of you - we know that, not just because we've reached a million pounds but also because of the letters you've sent in with your donations. One lady sent a cheque and said she had been giving 'ever since Dick Sheppard', the first vicar of St Martin's to give a Christmas Appeal.

Rev Nick Holtam with the pot of coins

This small but very heavy pot held by a smiling Rev Nicholas Holtam, the current vicar, also holds a lovely story. It is jammed full of small change! A listener heard the 2009 Appeal and decided to put her coppers into this pot during the year to give to the 2010 Christmas Appeal. When it came to delivering the money it was so heavy, her husband had to drive her and the pot to St Martins! Thank you.

I am sure that the cold weather in December made all of us acutely aware of how dreadful it must be to have no home in such weather. One listener wrote: "I have always been a bit judgemental with regard to the homeless but this cold snap has made me grateful for my warm and comfortable home. I cannot imagine anything worse than sleeping rough just now."

For those who like numbers Craig Norman who administers the Christmas Appeal tells me that it hit the £10,000 mark in 1939. It hit £100,000 in 1982.....and in 2010 it has achieved £1,000,000 - it truly is a landmark year. But as the Rev Nick Holtam says:

Austen Williams, who was my predecessor but one, died on the day of the Christmas Appeal 9 years ago and he heard the appeal and said one day they're going to reach a million pounds and actually we're standing on the shoulders of lots of people who've done this before and we've reached a million pounds - it is extraordinary.

Thank you.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Donations to the appeal are still coming in. Make yours on the Radio 4 web site.
• The picture was taken in Leinster Square, Bayswater in West London by Blodeuwed, a member of the homeless photographers group at The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields. More pictures from the group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Visit the page and click the 'Like' button for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.