The magazine, part of DC Thomson Media, revealed the total at a party last week at the publisher’s Dundee headquarters.
The campaign began in 1998 when My Weekly published a story about a charity that was delivering Christmas cards to children in orphanages in Romania. When the magazine asked readers to send cards in, they responded in their thousands. From there, the fundraising began in earnest.
In the years that followed, My Weekly helped refurbish rundown orphanages and a barely-functioning TB hospital in Romania, among many other things. There were many initiatives, with each one aiming to improve the quality of life for young people in need, say the publishers.
In 2008, they partnered with Mary’s Meals, a charity which provides nutritious meals to children in poverty stricken countries across the world. Over the years, My Weekly has highlighted the work Mary’s Meals does in countries such as Malawi, India, Kenya and Zambia, generating a huge response in readers’ donations. Since then, the magazine has continued its support of the organisation.
Stuart Johnstone, Editor of My Weekly magazine, said, “We are all incredibly proud of our Helping Hand Appeal and to have raised more than £1million over the lifetime of the appeal is a staggering achievement.
“This would not have been possible without the unfailing kindness of My Weekly readers, who every year dig deep to donate funds, so on behalf of the whole My Weekly team I would like to say a big thank you to them.”
The £1 million target was revealed to the My Weekly team, charity partners and readers at a party in DC Thomson Media’s Dundee headquarters. The event also saw Daniel Adams, CEO of Mary’s Meals UK, and Harrison Watson, Editor of My Weekly when the appeal first started in 1998, speak to guests.
Daniel Adams, CEO of Mary’s Meals, said, “My Weekly readers’ incredible generosity towards Mary’s Meals and their unwavering support for our mission over many, many years has been the cause of so much joy, hope and transformation in some of the world’s poorest communities.
“Thanks to their extraordinary kindness, many thousands of impoverished children have been brought into the classroom through the promise of a nutritious daily meal in school, and given the possibility of an all-important education.
“We are so thankful for our long-standing partnership with My Weekly and we congratulate both the staff team and the readers on the remarkable achievement of raising more than £1 million through the Helping Hand Appeal.”
