Lighthouse Charity brings back Christmas e-cards as demand for its help rises 51%

The Lighthouse Charity has revived its Christmas e-card scheme for construction businesses, asking for a suggested £/€1 donation per recipient, as it tries to raise £200,000 by Christmas to meet rising demand for its services.

The charity said it brought the cards back after a steady stream of requests from supporters. The announcement was republished in October by the Painting and Decorating Association (PDA), which describes itself as the only UK-wide trade body dedicated to the painting and decorating sector.

Sarah Bolton, chief executive of the Lighthouse Charity, said: "Our Christmas E-card campaign was incredibly popular a few years ago," and that the charity had been pleased by the number of people asking for the cards to return.

How the scheme works

According to the charity's campaign page, the e-cards come in three designs and businesses can add their company logo to personalise the message. The charity suggests a donation of £/€1 for each recipient, with a minimum donation of £/€100.

The PDA's version of the release gives the figures in euros only, at €1 per recipient and a €100 minimum. The charity's own page carries both currencies.

The charity describes the e-cards as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional Christmas cards. The charity also ran an e-card campaign in 2021, when it offered three new designs, recommended a donation of £1/€1 per contact, and sent each personalised card to the buyer as a PDF and JPEG to share with colleagues, customers and suppliers.

Money raised will go towards the charity's 24/7 wellbeing support for the construction community in the UK and Ireland, delivered through its free and confidential helpline, one-to-one online chat service and self-support app.

Why the charity is fundraising now

The e-cards arrive a month after the charity launched what it called an urgent appeal in September 2026, saying it needed to raise £200,000/€233,000 by Christmas. The target also appears on its homepage.

In that appeal the charity said the number of families seeking its support so far in 2026 had risen by 51%, food deliveries were up 65%, and it had funded more than 7,000 counselling sessions in the year to date.

Bolton said in the appeal: "Our 24/7 helpline and 1:1 online chat service provides a beacon of hope".

The appeal follows growth in demand during 2025. In its 2025 impact figures, published in July 2026, the charity said it had increased the charitable and leveraged support it delivered to £6.3m and had helped 6,712 families with needs including emergency food shops and housing support.

The same figures showed growth across its services compared with 2024:

Measure (2025)	Increase on previous year
Families supported	17%
Counselling sessions funded (8,714)	51%
Critical incidents responded to (94)	42%

The charity said its 24/7 helpline is run by a team of 12 front-line call handlers and caseworkers.

Background

The Lighthouse Charity has been delivering charitable support to the construction community since 1956. It describes its offer as free 24/7 emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support for construction workers and their families, provided through a helpline, live web chat, a text service and a self-support app.

The PDA, which circulated the e-card announcement to its members, was formed in July 2002.

The charity's Christmas appeal target of £200,000/€233,000 runs until Christmas 2026.