CELTIC FC Foundation, the club’s charitable arm, is delighted to launch its 2019 Christmas Appeal and once again, the club has kicked off the campaign with a wonderful donation of £10,000.

The appeal will officially kick off tomorrow, Wednesday, November 6, exactly 132 years since the formation of Celtic Football Club, in St Mary’s Church Hall in East Rose Street, Calton.

Our Christmas Appeal aims to honour the founding principles set out that day in 1887, by continuing to help those in our community, who are most in need.

Through the appeal, we want to help hundreds of local families facing poverty, giving them the kind of Christmas we all take for granted. With lots of food on the table and gifts for the kids. Making sure Santa pays a visit on Christmas Eve is a hugely important for all of us.

We also want to support pensioners on our doorstep, by lending a hand at a difficult time of year. Local charities need our help too. We can make a massive difference to the lives of children, the homeless, refugees and those living in refuge or facing other challenges.

The generosity and compassion of the Celtic Family is truly unrivalled and once again, we are looking for your support, to get behind this year’s Christmas Appeal. We are a club like no other, and together, we can continue to bring comfort to those who need it most.

In addition to encouraging donations, the appeal will also see the return of a host of fundraising events and initiatives. These include:

- Founding Fathers’ Fast which will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, November 6.

- Celtic Sleep Out, Glasgow, on Saturday, November 16.

- Our Letter from Santa initiative, which will be available from Monday, November 18 to Wednesday, December 11 for international supporters and Friday, December 13 for those in the UK and Ireland.

- Light up the Clover event at the UEFA Europa League match against Stade Rennais on Thursday, November 28.

- Ghirls for Good festive extravaganza on Friday, November 29.

- Celtic Sleep Out, London, on Saturday, November 30.

- Our annual Christmas Appeal matchday bucket collection at the SPFL match against Hibernian on Sunday, December 15.

Thanks to the incredible support and generosity of club sponsors Dafabet and Magners, this year’s appeal will also see the Celtic first team sporting our unique Christmas Appeal logo on their Hoops for the match against Motherwell on Sunday, November 10. A selection of the shirts will then be signed and made available via an online charity auction from our eBay account.

In addition to this shirt auction, we will once again be hosting another eBay Christmas Appeal charity auction, with a host of wonderful items on offer, between Thursday, December 5 and Tuesday, December 10.

Thanks also to club sponsor, Intelligent Car Leasing, who have very kindly donated their LED advertising allocation, to allow us to share Christmas Appeal news at home matches, throughout the festive period.

Speaking of the appeal, Celtic Chief Executive, Peter Lawwell said: “The club is delighted to launch this year’s important appeal with a donation of £10,000. Celtic Football Club is totally committed to helping people in real need and at a difficult time of the year for so many, we hope our work, through this year’s appeal, can bring some cheer to those who really need our support.

“Our Christmas Appeal will ultimately have a huge impact across a wide spectrum of families and fantastic community groups and will make such a positive difference to the lives of thousands of people, once again honouring the great charitable ambitions of the club’s founders.”

Celtic FC Foundation Chief Executive, Tony Hamilton, added: “Our Christmas Appeal lies at the very heart of why Celtic Football Club was founded. Unfortunately, many people today are facing the same kind of struggles encountered by those living in 1887.

“On that occasion, our Founding Fathers took it upon themselves to make a difference to people’s lives and that is exactly what we’re aiming to do through our Christmas Appeal, by providing practical support to those within our communities, who are most in need.

“Last year saw the Celtic support provide incredible backing for our appeal once again and, thanks to their generosity, we were able to offer more help to those in need than ever before. Funds raised have allowed us to not only provide support to families and charities within Glasgow, but also other parts of Scotland, Ireland, London and overseas.

“We hope that through our 2019 Appeal we will be able to do this once again but we simply cannot achieve it without the support of the many Celtic fans across the globe. There are plenty of ways in which people can engage with our appeal and get involved through a variety of events and initiatives.

“I’d like to thank everyone who is able to make a contribution in advance for their wonderful support, in doing so you will be making a genuine difference to the lives of so many people.”

Christmas is a time to give and share. And the Glasgow Celtic will be there.

Here is a reminder of the incredible difference you made in 2018. Thank you for your wonderful support.

To get behind the Christmas Appeal 2019, you can:

1. Donate by Text – text ‘CELTIC’ followed by ‘£1’, ‘£5’ or ‘£10’ to 70085*

2. Donate Online

3. Donate via PayPal: www.CelticChristmasAppeal.com

4. Donate in Cash – there are collection boxes located in all Celtic Stores

5. Donate by Cheque – payable to ‘Celtic FC Foundation’ and sent to Celtic FC Foundation, Celtic Park, Glasgow G40 3RE.

6. Provide support through your Christmas shopping via Give as you Live and Amazon Smile

7. Take part in the Founding Fathers’ Fast tomorrow, November 6, and donate £5 through one of the outlets above – http://www.celticfc.net/news/17040

8. Contribute via our Christmas Appeal eBay auctions – the first featuring signed shirts following the Celtic v Motherwell match on Sunday, November 10 and then our general auction between Thursday, December 5 and Tuesday, December 10 - of which all proceeds will be donated to the Appeal.

9. Sign up for the Celtic Sleep Out, Glasgow on Saturday, November 16 - http://www.celticfc.net/news/16709

10. Make a donation to receive your ‘Celtic FC Foundation Letter from Santa’– further details to follow.

11. Support our Light Up the Clover initiative on Thursday, November 28 or matchday bucket collection on Sunday, December 15 - to register as a volunteer collector, call 0141 551 4204 or email cfcfoundation@celticfc.co.uk

12. Come along to the Ghirls for Good on Friday, November 29 http://www.celticfc.net/news/16887

13. Sign up for the Celtic Sleep Out, London on Saturday, November 30 – http://www.celticfc.net/news/16709

Thank you for your magnificent support.

*Texts will cost the donation amount, plus one standard rate message

Celtic kick off Foundation’s Christmas Appeal with £10,000 donation