L-Istrina beneficiaries have welcomed the €2.3 million that were raised on Sunday, saying the funds were much needed for projects they hope to launch in the New Year.

“The money is needed desperately,” Malta Guide Dog Foundation chairman Ron Colombo said when contacted by The Times.

The annual Boxing Day fundraiser managed to match last year’s sum, which will give a helping hand to no fewer than 28 beneficiaries.

The newspaper contacted some of them to see what they planned to spend their belated Christmas gift on.

The director of Santa Venera’s St Joseph Home, Frankie Cini, said the money collected will fund the replacement of a lift in the residence that shelters around 18 children between eight and 18 years of age. The elevator, he said, will ease access in the building and will cater especially for disabled people.

Richmond Foundation, which works for people with mental health problems, will be using the money for the Supportive Housing Refurbishment project, the foundation’s CEO said yesterday.

Richmond rents apartments from the Housing Authority and privately to house people with mental health problems. It provides support to these tenants by helping them to manage their place. At present it has 21 apartments and 43 tenants all over Malta.

“Some of these apartments need refurbishment so that our tenants continue to live a good quality of life,” CEO Dolores Gauci said.

Suret il-Bniedem Foundation will also be using part of the funds to help people with mental health, according to chairman Philip Gafa.

The foundation offers temporary residential shelter to around 50 homeless people through three homes: Dar Patri Leopoldo in Gżira, Dar Tereza Spinelli in Valletta and Dar Victoria in Marsa.

The money donated to the NGO will be invested in two areas, Mr Gafa said: the continuation of Dar Tereza Spinelli, which has been running for the past nine years, and a new shelter that will be inaugurated in 2011.

This shelter, Dar San Franġisk, is a joint venture between Mount Carmel Hospital and the foundation and will home eight residents who have no one to turn to upon finishing their programme at the hospital.

Furthering the mental health theme this year, the Jesuit Refugee Service will also be using the funds to offer psychological and social support to vulnerable migrants. The project, 75 per cent of which is funded by the European Refugee Fund, will benefit people with mental, chronic or terminal illnesses, including victims of trauma, JRS director Joe Cassar said.

The programme will provide sheltered accommodation under professional care and will help migrants to set themselves up independently in the community. The residence will temporarily house around 30 people, while around 100 immigrants can benefit from the professional services offered at the centre.

Victim Support Malta Director Roberta Lepre said the money donated to the organisation will fund an outreach campaign to raise awareness about elderly victims of abuse, which will include a media campaign to encourage these victims to seek support.

“Members of Victim Support will visit day centres and homes to meet the elderly, as it might be awkward for the victims themselves to ring up the organisation,” Dr Lepre said.

The guide dog foundation will be using the funds to extend a course for volunteers to teach the blind about independent living, on top of the mobility and orientation courses that are already offered.

“If we have some more cash, we might even be able to buy another few dogs,” Mr Colombo said, pointing out that guide dogs keep the blind from having to beg for assistance every time they go out.

The foundation, which was the first to provide mobility and orientation courses in Malta, aims to teach and assist people who are blind to live an independent life.

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