This year, thousands of local people will be able to enjoy the gift of live theatre thanks to the generosity of donors to the Big Christmas Appeal at Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts. 

The final figure raised from donations and Gift Aid, as well as the match funding of Lyn Glass, a former chair of Poole Arts Trust the charity responsible for running Lighthouse, will be in excess of £18,850. 

“It is an incredible gesture by one of our most generous supporters that has seen some of the donations to the Big Christmas Appeal doubled,” says Lighthouse fundraising manager Tom Shallaker. 

“Lighthouse is incredibly grateful and genuinely humbled by the generosity of all our donors, particularly after such a difficult year for so many. 

“Some of the children that have joined us this year had never experienced the magic of live theatre and thanks to the Big Christmas Appeal, among the hundreds of people we’ve been able to help, were young carers who enjoyed a day out at our in-house produced panto Beauty and the Beast.”