The Society of St Vincent de Paul says it expects to receive over 50,000 calls for help in the run-up to Christmas.

The charity has launched its annual appeal, and says while its immediate concern is the festive season, the longer term focus is on helping families to break the cycle of poverty.

National Vice-President Kieran Stafford outlines how people can help.

“They can donate to us, either locally or online. They can donate clothes if they’re in difficulty themselves and they can’t donate money. They can come volunteer if they want to.

“We’re willing to take or accept any kind of support or help people are able to give us.”

The theme of the SVP Annual Appeal, which was launched by RTE’s Ryan Tubridy, is “Your yes can last a lifetime”.

A series of advertisements to highlight this message will be published during the Annual Appeal, which runs until the end of the year.

They are all based on real examples from the experience of SVP members visiting families in their homes.