We are raising £5,000 for Radio Skye' Christmas Toy Appeal Cram the Van

Radio Skye are delighted to be go live on Cram The Van 2025 with Radio Skye 48 Hour Live on the 2nd of October with a whole 48 hours of live broadcasting from the studio running from 10am until 10am Saturday morning. Listeners can donate via our Just Giving site and money will go towards making 2024 an extra special year for families in Skye and Lochalsh.

We’ll be doing special phone-ins, competitions, requests, shout outs, and playing the best music this side of Plockton. It’s going to be the best 48 hours you’ll ever hear on radio, worth getting up early for and worth staying up late even if it’s to check we are still awake! In November Radio Skye will be launching the twelfth year of Cram The Van Toy Appeal and this year, we will be focusing on vouchers as much as toys so families can purchase gifts in advance which we hope will reduce anxiety at what can be a stressful time at Christmas.

The appeal which works directly with partner organisations such as Highland Council Children's services, Children's health teams, Skye & Lochalsh Citizens Advice Bureau, Skye & Lochalsh Young Carers and schools is completely confidential and is designed to help families prepare for Christmas in a supportive and dignified way. Radio Skye only gets a list of ages and genders; the gifts are then collected by the agencies for delivery a week before Christmas. This means that families can wrap the gifts to give to their children without the worry about the cost.

Last year the station supplied presents and gift vouchers to over 250 young people, the biggest year yet and the station expect similar numbers this year. The campaign supports all age groups from babies and teenagers up to 19 years of age. Money raised is used to buy extra gifts for infants and gift vouchers for the teenage age group, this gives families options to either buy gifts with the voucher or give the voucher for their children to choose their own presents.