ITV’s Text Santa

Thank you for watching and donating to the Text Santa appeal - it’s raised an amazing £5.2 million for six UK charities including Together for Short Lives!

In 2012 Text Santa supported six charities including Together for Short Lives, the leading charity for UK children’s hospices. The money raised will support 49 local children’s hospices through Together for Short Lives.

Meet Daisy

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Please note the Text Santa donation lines and text to donate number are now closed. If you would like to donate to Together for Short Lives please donate here.

Daisy is a truly remarkable little girl. She made her television debut on ITV’s Text Santa on 21 December, just one day  before her eighth birthday. 

Soon after she was born, Daisy was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Costello Syndrome. The condition affects less than 300 children in the world and very few of these children survive into adulthood.

Daisy spent her first Christmas in intensive care and she’s had to return there countless times over the past eight years. In that time Daisy’s mum and dad, Steph and Andy, have had to be trained in a wide range of medical procedures so that they can care for Daisy during the time that she is at home – and it’s a 24 hour job.

Thankfully, the family hasn’t had to cope alone. Together for Short Lives is the national charity for all children’s hospices in the UK, including Shooting Star CHASE in Guildford where Daisy is cared for.

“We are so lucky to have the hospice” says Steph. “Daisy has been going there since she was only a few months old. We simply couldn’t have coped without them – they’re our lifeline. Having spent so much of her life in hospital all we want is for Daisy to have fun and experience as much of a childhood as possible. We don’t know how much time we have with her but we are determined to make every minute of the time we do have count.”

Biggest Charity Bag Pack Ever

A huge thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who took part in the Biggest Charity Bag Pack Ever in partnership with ASDA and Text Santa on Thursday 6 December. !Volunteers at more than 200 stores packed shopping for customers at the checkout in return for donations to the appeal. And in some of the stores the volunteers were joined by a few of ITV’s most famous faces.

Visit the Text Santa Facebook page and follow @ITVTextSanta on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest events and information about the show. Read more about Text Santa.