Around 10 million euros raised in the “Licht ins Dunkel” donation campaign – Coronavirus Vienna

The corona pandemic apparently had no effect on the Austrians’ willingness to donate to ORF’s traditional Christmas donation drive “Licht ins Dunkel.” On Christmas Eve alone, around ten million euros were raised, ORF “Licht ins Dunkel” chief Pius Strobl said in a broadcast.

“In addition to this, the great result of the ‘Licht ins Dunkel’ gala night on November 25, the ORF Sports ‘Licht ins Dunkel’ auctions and ORF III give me great confidence that the ‘Licht ins Dunkel’ will help Despite the difficult period of the Crown, the association ‘Licht ins Dunkel’ can continue to do so on a large scale, “said Strobl. He thanked “the great willingness of the Austrians to help.”

During the morning broadcast of “Licht ins Dunkel”, the “Christmas Miracle Ö3” came to an end at the Ö3 studios in Vienna-Heiligenstadt. The Ö3 listeners ordered music for € 3,759,701 and at the same time donated to the emergency aid fund “Licht ins Dunkel”. Added to this is the previous result of Ö3’s € 400,000 surprise bag campaign, “with which the Ö3 community has once again marked a clear sign of unity in this difficult year,” says Ö3 boss Georg Spatt .

Many representatives of politics, business, sport and culture supported the program presented by Barbara Stöckl and Peter Resetarits, live from the ORF center. Federal President and sponsor of the “Licht ins Dunkel” campaign, Alexander Van der Bellen, and his wife Doris Schmidauer were invited in the morning and assisted on the donation phones. Van der Bellen emphasized the importance of trust, not only at Christmas: “It is important to remember that with courage and confidence you go through life very differently in the long run. You have to find a way even in crisis situations. So do we. We have it, we learned from the pandemic, that no one would have expected at the beginning, that is, we will have a vaccine by the end of the year. ” Regarding the great need for refugees in Greece and Bosnia, the federal president said: “I strongly advocate setting an example in this great emergency, which is unworthy of Europe. Even if this signal is not a perfect solution.”

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn recalled that the real message of Christmas is that God has allowed himself to enter this world and “that, therefore, the world is not lost, even if it is in a crisis like the corona pandemic.” The cardinal emphasized: “Fear is not a good adviser. The great wisdom of all religions is today. We do not have tomorrow under control, yesterday is past.” He also advocated for humanity when dealing with refugees in Greece or Bosnia-Herzegovina: “You can find ways to combine good politics and humanity.”

As a “voice of reason”, religious communities in particular are tasked with maintaining an appreciative and harmonious exchange in crisis situations, as Ümit Vural, president of the Community of Islamic Faith in Austria, emphasized. Other religious representatives such as Chief Rabbi Jaron Engelmayer, Greek Orthodox Archpriest Nikolaus Rappert, President of the Buddhist Religious Society, Gerhard Weissgrab, and the Higher Council of the Evangelical Church in Austria also formulated the value of solidarity and the opportunity to discover positive things in the crisis. , Karl Schiefermair.

Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) spoke of an extremely challenging year: “This year everyone realized that health is simply the highest good, which unfortunately cannot be taken for granted.” The head of government emphasized how difficult it is, especially for older people, to walk a tightrope between the necessary protection on the one hand and isolation on the other. Kurz was optimistic that the new year “will hopefully bring a sea change” and, with the return to normalcy, will allow “a state that establishes as few rules as possible.”

Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) called cohesion and patience, both in private and in politics, as virtues of the pandemic, which also apply to the issue of vaccination: “Some should present arguments, but without coercion, and the who are skeptical, listen to the arguments. “

The opposition parties also brought the message of unity to the fore. SPÖ Party Leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner: “Corona’s great lesson is that we can only overcome these crises together.” Norbert Hofer, leader of the FPÖ federal party: “Especially in the Christmas season, politics is not a problem, but the personal, the human.” Helmut Brandstätter, member of the National NEOS Council, called for help for refugees: “Within the European Union there must be no hunger and displacement.”

Donations can also be made after December 24 by calling or texting the donations toll-free number A1 0800-664-24-12 and online at lichtinsdunkel.ORF.at or on Facebook at ORFLichtinsDunkel.

All information on donation options can also be found on ORF TELETEXT on page 680. The full broadcast of “Licht ins Dunkel” is available as a live broadcast and, after its television broadcast, for seven days on the platform ORF-TVthek Video as a Video On Demand available.