L-Istrina lived up to its extraordinary fund-raising capability yesterday when a staggering €2,332,410 were collected for the Community Chest Fund in yet another example of the nation’s spirit of solidarity.

The sum equalled last year’s record for the annual telethon, meeting the organisers’ expectations by again exceeding the magic Lm1 million figure.

As it had done last year for the first time, the event managed to collect the money without the allure of prizes given out to members of the public calling in with their donations.

The 12-hour event kicked off at midday and, within three hours, the sum had already reached €500,000. By about 6 p.m. the telethon had collected more than €1 million.

Behind the scenes the crew of over 200 people worked tirelessly to ensure that everything went as planned.

An estimated 7,000 people took part in the event including the audience and people who took the calls of those who phoned in to make their donation of €12 or €24 depending on what number they dialled.

The show was broadcast on all television stations as well as being aired and streamed on a few radio stations and websites.

Five minutes before the programme went on air, crew members ran around the set making the final arrangements for the event that had been planned since August.

Once the programme started, President George Abela, wearing the L-Istrina yellow scarf, encouraged people to phone in and make their donations to help those in need.

The message was echoed by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Labour Leader Joseph Muscat who urged people to forget their differences and donate as much as they could afford to give during this “celebration of solidarity”.

This year’s 11th edition of L-Istrina was held at the Lufthansa Technik hangar in Luqa.

Prizes were removed last year following controversies that raged in the past where the organisers were criticised for putting too much emphasis on gifts.

Some were concerned that the lack of prizes would lead to a fall in donations.

Also like last year, there was a competition between the different villages – they were ranked throughout the day depending on how many calls were received from each locality. Birkirkara and Mosta rated the highest for most of the day.

Throughout the 12-hour marathon – presented by Peppi Azzopardi, John Bundi, Alfred Zammit, Ray Attard, Stephanie Spiteri and Valerie Vella – spectators at home could see the amount collected being constantly updated on their televisions screens.

The public was entertained with games and performances by popular singers and dancers.

Then there were the human stories of people passing through difficult times that were aired in short clips to encourage people to make their donations. These included the stories of cancer patients and sick children who needed help to get treatment overseas.

Annabelle Vassallo, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, shared her message of hope and love for life as she too encouraged people to help others.

As the public phoned in, companies helped top up the sum with their own donations, many of which were in the €2,000 range.

HSBC donated €100,000 while Bank of Valletta presented a cheque of €35,000 collected through their piggy bank campaign in schools which was then topped up to reach €100,000 with a further donation by the bank. Later in the evening Banif Bank topped them both with a massive €151,000.

Donations poured in from all over Malta including from several offices and organisations. Prison inmates also gave a contribution of over €2,000.

For the first time, the public could donate through a Facebook application, which is linked to L-Istrina’s Official Facebook Page. The page has claimed over 10,000 members since its creation last year.

Facebook members can give a donation by searching L-Istrina – F’Idejk, “Liking” the page and following the links, or by directly accessing the application at apps.facebook. com/l-istrina. The application will remain active for donations until January 6.

The names of 28 organisations chosen by the Malta Community Chest Fund board as the beneficiaries of this year’s L-Istrina campaign was published earlier in the month.