NI ‘Digg’s Deep for Kids’ to help raise over £100,000 for charity

Local fundraising initiative, ‘Digg Deep for Kids’, which launched just over two weeks ago, has raised over an incredible £100,000 to help ensure no child in Northern Ireland is left without a gift and that families have food to eat and warm homes this festive season.

The charity campaign, in aid of Women’s Aid, Children in Northern Ireland and Cash for Kids, was launched by the O’Neill family from Dungannon with the ‘I’m a Busy Man’ single which written by singer-songwriter, Jim (Farmer Harte) and inspired by ‘Tyrone’s busiest man’ and internet sensation, four-year old Darragh O’Neill. Two raffles were also organised with prizes donated by local businesses.

Caroline O’Neill said: “We have been blown away by the amazing support ‘Digg Deep for Kids’ has received from people throughout Northern Ireland and indeed right around the world. What started off as a charity single to try and raise as much money as possible to buy gifts and food for local families in need this Christmas, has ended up as an initiative that has been embraced by thousands of local people and businesses with over £100,000 raised and hundreds of donations of gifts in kind.

“The support from local businesses has been amazing, especially given the huge challenges that so many have faced this year – with over 100 kindly supporting us. And in demonstrating the good of social media, we enlisted the help of social influencers to spend the money in their local towns across the province, and in working with their connections, they were able to make the money go even further. Due to all of this incredible support, we have been able to turn the money raised into £250,000 worth of gifts, essentials and food for the families who need it the most over Christmas and into 2021.

“We worked with the charities to find out everything their families needed and it is just heart-breaking to now know the extent of how little thousands of people across Northern Ireland have. For example, we have been able to provide Women’s Aid refuges with the likes of bedding, toiletries, sanitary products, nappies and maternity necessities – the very basics that so many of us take for granted every day.

“And in addition to the original plan of gifts and food, due to the support the fundraising initiative received from the people of Northern Ireland, we have also been able to provide over £20,000 in gas and oil vouchers to Women’s Aid, Children in Northern Ireland and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

“I would like to thank every single person who donated or purchased a gift; to the businesses that provided a raffle prize, gave us discounts or free products and the social media influencers who gave up their time to help get everything that was needed. Digg Deep for Kids has been a testament to Northern Ireland’s remarkable community spirit and the will of the people here to ensure that the children and families who need our help have the Christmas they deserve,” Caroline added.