I’m excited that the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal is set to break its record figure any day now. That represents fantastic generosity from our listeners and supporters. Every donation helps: £10 can cover an in-depth assessment of a rough sleeper’s needs; £100 covers an outreach team to go out on the streets and engage with rough sleepers for an hour, encouraging them to come in and use our services.

A few weeks ago a man came to see me and told me a story. He’d been at college in central London 40 years ago. Each day he’d come and sat in or near St Martin-in-the-Fields and had a coffee, a smoke, or a bite of lunch. He’d moved away, and had never had much income; his profession never yielded much beyond a basic lifestyle. Whenever he was in London he’d pop by St Martin’s as of old; and, just as then, there’d always be people in need, isolated, alone, facing humiliation and bitter cold. ‘But now,’ he said, ‘something unexpected’s happened. I’ve been left a bit of money – out of the blue. After all those years when I’d looked at those people, and to be frank I didn’t have a whole lot more money than them – now I have. I’ve never been able to give to your appeal before, so now I’m going to write you a cheque for all those years I missed. Here it is.’ And he handed me an envelope. And I felt like I’d been handed a gift of gold by one of the three kings.

I realised I was face-to-face with the spirit of the Christmas Appeal. The powerlessness of homelessness face-to-face with the powerlessness of not knowing how to help. And, in between, an 86-year-old tradition of finding ways to give people a chance to get their lives back together. And a habit of remembering: ‘I once needed a bit of help: now I’m a bit steadier, maybe I can help you.’

• Donate to Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal
• Phillip is homeless - hear his story about living on the streets
• Hear The Reverend Dr. Sam Wells on the Radio 4 Sunday programme

Alison, one of the many volunteers who work on the Christmas Appeal

"A gift from one lucky person to one who's less fortunate this year" - A quote from a donor to the Christmas Appeal

Thank You to everyone who has donated to this year's Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal. As the Christmas decorations come down on this 12th night we'd like to share with you the fantastic news that the appeal has broken new records and to date stands at £1,523,000.

Sophie Balaam from the Connection at St Martins went to meet the team of volunteers who work away each day opening all the post that has been sent:

"There are 6 volunteers and they are all working like busy bees, the scene reminded me of Santa's Grotto! But instead of presents there are boxes and boxes full of post. There are piles of cheques being counted and hundreds of Christmas cards from donors which brighten up the room.

You might think this is a tedious job. The volunteers have been working every day since the appeal launched on the first weekend in December. But a couple of the ladies I spoke to said how much they enjoyed opening the post because lots of people include hand written notes, or letters, and many of the donations come with Christmas cards.

The generosity of those that donate is incredibly humbling - especially during these financially difficult times - in fact the average donation is £50 and Alison, one of the volunteers, said it's not unusual for people to give £200. And there is still plenty of post to open!

I want to thank everyone that has donated so far. You really are making a big difference to the appeal. And another thank you to our volunteers - keep up the good work!"

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• More about the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal and the donation page
• On the blog: A day with the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal

The morning after I had visited The Connection at St Martins, I woke up at 5 am and wasn't able to fall back asleep. It was dark and cold - the timer on the central heating not yet having kicked in - and outside icy raindrops were pinging off the bedroom window. I pulled the duvet up to my chin and remembered Jo who had told me it's early winter mornings that are the hardest when you are sleeping rough.

By that time of the morning, Jo told me, no matter how many layers you've wrapped yourself in, the cold of the pavement has seeped in, through your flesh and into your bones. If you wake up too early, and can't fall back asleep - before the day centre, the underground, libraries or anywhere else that might provide shelter is open - then you're stuck: cold and shivering.

If you've got enough money you might go and get a coffee and sit in McDonalds for a little while, she said. But you have to leave after half an hour which is hardly long enough to chase the chill from your feet or hands.

Tom slept rough for two years before recently having found accommodation. Women joke, she said, about how the female body isn't made for sleeping on hard flat surfaces. Men are made "straight up and and down", perfectly adapted for lying on concrete. Women have too many curves to get comfortable and end up getting horrendous backache.

Early winter mornings, I was told, are even worse than the nights, when passers-by give you a kick, just for the heck of it. Which is most nights, Sarah told me. But not as often as some lairy idiot sees fit to yell insults at you because maybe you haven't had the chance to wash recently and, maybe, you're looking a bit rough.

But not as bad, the women say, as those many nights when, despite your best efforts to hide your gender, you're subject to unwanted sexual attention. All the women have experience of that and know of others who have been sexually assaulted or raped. Because, let's face it, Sarah says, when you're a woman living on the streets it's not just the cold you're vulnerable to.

I didn't expect any of the women I interviewed for Woman's Hour in connection with the Radio 4 Appeal to tell me that rough sleeping or being homeless was "easy".

What did surprise me was how, at certain times in their life, sleeping on the street - even with the cold, the discomfort, the abuse and the constant fear of violence - was still preferable to the "home" situation they had left behind. Whether it was a violent partner, mental illness, a bereavement or some kind of other family breakdown; whether they had been evicted, abused or fighting alcohol or drug dependency issues, the homeless situation these women found themselves in was, often, the only option they felt they had.

What I learned from Jo, Tom and Sarah was that the reasons a woman becomes and sometimes continues to be homeless can be very complex. And that those reasons are always, like the women themselves, very individual.

There is no such thing as a "typical" homeless person.

And ultimately, lying there in my warm bed, snug and dry at five o'clock in the morning, it's hard not to feel how fortunate I have been that I have not faced the same challenges or hurdles they have, because the truth is, it could have been me. Given the wrong combination of circumstances, it could be any of us.

Anna McNamee is a reporter on Radio 4's Woman's Hour and a presenter on the BBC World Service arts programme, The Strand.

• Anna's report on women and homelessness is on Woman's Hour on Thursday 22 December.
• Details of how to donate online or by post to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal are here.

The Cardiff big screen, picture by Richard

Then there was Antonia in Manchester. She works one day a week in the city centre for Big Issue North. She would be there on Thursday and could get a picture for me. Clare who works for the Mines Advisory Council also braved the winds in Manchester to take a picture.

Manchester big screen

Aurelia who is a designer took this one in Bristol in the Millennium Square.

Bristol big screen

In Belfast, Karen, seen here amongst the trees, works for Capita. They answer our Radio 4 Appeal calls each week and drafted in an army of volunteers on Sunday to help us answer all the extra calls for the St Martin's appeal. Karen and colleague Michael ventured into the Christmas market to take this picture.

Belfast big screen

Finally a photo from Woolwich in London. I described my mad idea to Sue one of our studio managers and she immediately said, I could ask my husband to take a picture for you - so thanks Mike.

Woolwich big screen

So five down, sixteen to go - if I am to get every BBC Big Screen. So if you live (or know someone who lives) in Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Derby, Dover, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Swansea, Swindon or Waltham Forest and want to be part of a rather mad challenge then the slideshow will be showing on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14th December at 12.30pm.

Tweet your picture using our hashtag #R4Xmasappeal or post it on the Radio 4 Appeal Facebook site or email it to: charityappeals@bbc.co.uk

Meanwhile on Sunday when the appeal launched I was fortunate enough to be amongst the volunteers taking calls. It is a very heart warming way to spend time. We've had lots of phone and web donations but the biggest proportion of donations for this appeal have always come in the post, people like to write cheques. So we hope the post man is kept busy.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• You can donate to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal on the phone by calling 0800 082 82 84, online or send a cheque made payable to the St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal and post to:
  St Martin-in-the-Fields
  Trafalgar Square
  London
  WC2N 4JJ
• Where are the BBC Big Screens? Details here

As I emerge from the Tube at Embankment, I step over a pile of crushed cardboard boxes, surrounded by a scatter of tins. Somebody's bed last night. It's after 9am but the cold still strikes through my fleece and I'm glad to get indoors at the building opposite St Martin-in-the-Fields which houses the Connection - the centre for homeless people - and the Christmas Appeal office.

Inside, there's a lively buzz. The phones have been going since 7.30 and the first shift is leaving, including a BBC foreign correspondent and an editor from Current Affairs. I sign in, do the data security briefing, find myself wearing a headset and immediately the phone rings.

The first caller gives £100. He gives every year to the Radio 4 Appeal: "I'm not sending cards or giving presents this Christmas but I want to do something to make the world a better place."

A woman gives £200: "It's my winter fuel allowance. To be honest I don't need it anywhere as much as the people you help, so I'm sending it to St Martin's."

Another woman phones to say how important she thinks the appeal is, and although she can't donate immediately (because her utility bills are due) she will send a cheque after Christmas. Both these callers mention, when asked if we can gift aid their donations, that they don't earn enough to pay tax.

There are only seconds between calls. One comes from a woman who herself became homeless aged 50.

A tray of tea appears. Around me, there is a constant trill of phones and murmur of voices: "How much would you like to donate? Would you like a newsletter? What is the long number? And the expiry date? Thank you very much and a happy Christmas to you."

The volunteers include St Martin's parishioners, BBC colleagues, staff from a City accountancy firm. A mother and daughter have travelled 2 hours from Dover to help. Everyone feels privileged to be part of it, welcoming this flow of human kindness.

On the office wall there's a coloured map of the UK, showing the distribution of funds from last year's appeal, from Cornwall to Cape Wrath. There are only 2 or 3 counties in which grants have not been made, helping vulnerable people at moments of critical need.

Many donations are of £10 or £20, the givers always saying a variation of: "It's not much, I know, but I want to do something to make a difference." Often they say they have heard Libby Purves' Received With Thanks. One man says it "melted my heart of stone".

A retired nurse calls. She has already given £10 but when she heard Libby's programme she decided to phone and give another £10. She says she is on benefits herself but she knows from work with homeless people that there is nothing better than helping someone get back on their feet, and you never know someone's story until you really listen.

A man calls from Sweden to donate and tells the story of his youngest brother, who fell on hard times living in London, lost his job and home and became alcoholic.

"An intelligent guy, nice background and family - but it can happen to anyone." The Connection at St Martins helped him and he got into a hostel and, eventually, a flat. But he didn't recover from the alcoholism and died at 45. "I really believe in this appeal, " says the caller.

When told how big the response is, despite difficult economic times, he remarks that "it says something very special about the British public". And so it does.

Denis Nowlan is the Network Manager Radio 4

• You can donate to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal on the phone by calling 0800 082 82 84, online or send a cheque made payable to the St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal and post to:
  St Martin-in-the-Fields
  Trafalgar Square
  London
  WC2N 4JJ

If you phone us to give a donation on Sunday - we promise we won't play you music whilst you wait to give! You will hear Libby Purves giving you some facts and figures about why your donation is so crucial.

You may hear the bells of St Martins - each year we set up a call centre manned by volunteers, in the church offices - just alongside the church. Or you might go through to one of our volunteers in Belfast - organised by our colleagues at Capita. We'll be keeping them going all day with copious amounts of tea, coffee and cake. (This Radio producer feels that cake is always the solution!)

Work by the homeless photography and writing group at St Martins

It has been a busy week. On Monday we put up an exhibition of work by the homeless photography and writing group on the railings of St Martins. It has been great to watch people stopping to read the boards.

David a former homeless client found he was suddenly greeted by a group of school children who had recognised him from the photographs! Making the words and pictures of homeless people 'visible' is for me the real power of this work. You can also get a taste of these pictures thanks to a slideshow made for us by the BBC magazine Ariel.

On Wednesday the Connection will open their doors to the public so if you are around London that day and would like to see at first hand the place you have heard about over the years - do drop by. Libby Purves will be opening "Behind Closed Doors" at 1pm. The centre will be open through till 6pm with an art exhibition, music, food and refreshments and a chance to see at first hand how the centre works.

I think if you ask most of us to picture a homeless person what may come to mind is someone lying in a doorway... not a young woman staring into brightly lit shop windows thinking that if she could just step through that door, that glass, she could be back in the world with everyone else.

I made this slideshow with an artist Betsy Dadd - she said that the power of the photographs taken by homeless people was for her that we were not just presenting a caricature of what it is like to be homeless.

The homeless person has taken the pictures, thought what they want to say - told their story. The slideshow hopefully helps to make the invisible visible.

So thank you to everyone who has given in the past and if you are new to this appeal - welcome to a charity that has been going for 85 years, some of our donors started giving when they were children and are now in their eighties - you're in good company.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal begins on Sunday morning at 7.55am. Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Read Ariel: BBC Radio 4 helps homeless appeal for 85th year
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.

One young homeless woman tells me, when you are on the streets, it is as if the world is going on normally on the other side of the glass and if you could just take one step you could step back into that world.

Another man who was homeless for over 20 years smiles: "That glass looks so thin and fragile but it's very thick."

(Ed's note: You can hear from some of the people helped on this video slideshow - PM)

For the past few weeks I have been gathering stories for this years Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal. I laugh with one interviewee as we compare notes on our favourite Radio 4 comedies. He was a project manager in construction, until a series of misfortunes including cancer, and debts left him with no money and no home. Originally from Glasgow he says "At least you won't run into your neighbour when you are 300 miles from home."

Libby Purves and I visit the night centre at The Connection for the report back programme Received with Thanks.

Listening back to the interview with a man who was sleeping there that night, I realise he keeps telling us how cold he gets, how hard it is to get warm, how he never really truly sleeps because he's so cold.

In Cardiff I met a woman who arrived back from hospital with her new baby only to be evicted from her house along with her two older sons and her partner. I joined her as she was given a grant for £250 by the Vicar's Relief Fund to help buy a bed, bedding and a cooker for the temporary accommodation they had just moved into. I was struck by her stoicism:

"I have to stay strong for my boys but it's all a front, deep down it's ripped me apart but if the boys see me upset it will upset them".

She bought a bed to be delivered later that afternoon "you just like to be snug don't you and have a good nights sleep".

The average Vicar's Relief Fund grant is £180 and takes just 3 days to turn around. These are crisis grants, helping to prevent an eviction, secure a tenancy or buy vital household goods. Grants go all over the UK.

The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields helps over 200 homeless people a day. They've faced reductions in their statutory funding and the Chief Executive describes last years record Radio 4 Christmas Appeal as a "lifeline".

So I want to thank every donor for every gift however big or small.

I also want to thank all the troubled people who give me their stories with such brutal honesty. The stories will be told through the Radio 4 Programmes Received with Thanks and the Vicar's appeal. They will be on our slideshow on the BBC Bigscreens or the web.

What is great about giving to this appeal is that people are not merely saying they support the charity financially they seem to say "We support what you are doing". It also says they care about the individuals whose stories have been told.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Find out more about the Radio 4 Appeal on the Radio 4 website including how to donate
• Read Ariel: BBC Radio 4 helps homeless appeal for 85th year

Editor's note. We've published several photographs from the homeless photographers group at St Martin-in-the-Fields since the Christmas Appeal started. This snowy scene by Blodeuwed really emphasises how hard this Winter has been for homeless people. If you haven't made a donation yet, you can do so on the Radio 4 web site - SB.

One million pounds for the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. Yes, you read that right: one million pounds for the Christmas Appeal and we are still pinching ourselves!

Last year we reached almost £900,000 - that was remarkable but we know that appeals don't have a right to increase year-on-year and life is tough for many people at the moment.

Gwyneth Williams, Controller of Radio 4 says:

This is a wonderful result, particularly given the difficult economic times. Evidence, once again, of the generous kindness of Radio 4 listeners and the importance of the work being done at St Martin-in-the-Fields for vulnerable people in London and across the UK.

The one million is, of course, made up of many thousands of donations - including one gift of £2 given by someone who is currently homeless.

This appeal clearly has a very special place in the hearts of many of you - we know that, not just because we've reached a million pounds but also because of the letters you've sent in with your donations. One lady sent a cheque and said she had been giving 'ever since Dick Sheppard', the first vicar of St Martin's to give a Christmas Appeal.

Rev Nick Holtam with the pot of coins

This small but very heavy pot held by a smiling Rev Nicholas Holtam, the current vicar, also holds a lovely story. It is jammed full of small change! A listener heard the 2009 Appeal and decided to put her coppers into this pot during the year to give to the 2010 Christmas Appeal. When it came to delivering the money it was so heavy, her husband had to drive her and the pot to St Martins! Thank you.

I am sure that the cold weather in December made all of us acutely aware of how dreadful it must be to have no home in such weather. One listener wrote: "I have always been a bit judgemental with regard to the homeless but this cold snap has made me grateful for my warm and comfortable home. I cannot imagine anything worse than sleeping rough just now."

For those who like numbers Craig Norman who administers the Christmas Appeal tells me that it hit the £10,000 mark in 1939. It hit £100,000 in 1982.....and in 2010 it has achieved £1,000,000 - it truly is a landmark year. But as the Rev Nick Holtam says:

Austen Williams, who was my predecessor but one, died on the day of the Christmas Appeal 9 years ago and he heard the appeal and said one day they're going to reach a million pounds and actually we're standing on the shoulders of lots of people who've done this before and we've reached a million pounds - it is extraordinary.

Thank you.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Donations to the appeal are still coming in. Make yours on the Radio 4 web site.
• The picture was taken in Leinster Square, Bayswater in West London by Blodeuwed, a member of the homeless photographers group at The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields. More pictures from the group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Visit the page and click the 'Like' button for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

We were planning to update you on the Christmas Appeal as we did last year on the 12th day of Christmas but we couldn't resist sharing our news. We are almost at last year's record total of £900,000 and it is not yet even christmas and as you will see from the picture - there is still a lot of post to open.

Currently you have raised £850,000 for the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal! As ever the donations come in all shapes and sizes... one of the volunteers told me how he opened one cheque for two pounds and then the next was two hundred - it's all those donations big and small that have got us to this amazing total.

The other lovely thing we wanted to share with you are the quotes from the letters we receive:

I used to have a good friend, Dennis, a homeless man who spoke so highly of you. He used to say if you are in the gutter, look up and you will see the stars.

Hello, I'm writing from a little village in Devon. There's over a foot of snow outside & the roads are frozen. I cannot imagine how anyone can be sleeping on the street tonight. Herewith my paltry contribution"

No donation is paltry to us, of course.

This is the money I would have spent on Christmas cards if I hadn't made them myself. I'm sending it after listening to your appeal on the radio.

Many of us are set for hard times ahead; I don't have much but at present have more than some so am happy to give when I can. Keep up the good work.

If you are in sight of a BBC big screen - there are 18 of them around the UK - look out for Jamie's audio slideshow. It is the first time this 84 year-old Radio appeal has appeared on the big screens... but why not? (If you happen to have a camera with you when you see it - perhaps you could take a picture for us?) So thank you so much for all your support and kind words. We will continue to open post over the Christmas period and we will be back to update you on the 12th day of Christmas.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Pictures by homeless photographers from The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Visit the page and click the 'Like' button for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

Editor's note: Sally Flatman, producer of all the Radio 4 Appeal programmes, brings us news from St Martin's. Make your own donation to the appeal on the Radio 4 web site - SB.

We've had an amazing start to this year's appeal - on Sunday, taking calls in London and Belfast from 8am till 10pm we received over £100,000. That is a record but you'll understand why we are still holding our breath - we don't underestimate the challenge of reaching last year's total of £900,000 particularly in the current economic climate.

The job of opening the post is really only just beginning but the team of volunteers is in place and working hard. (there are usually sacks of mail) As ever there are extraordinary donations like the postal orders which total £750 from someone who simply says that they: "spent two nights in the night shelter in 2001... thank you very much all involved".

We will keep in touch as the post gets opened. Thank you to all of you who have given via the web - again we are seeing more donations this year from the web but does this mean there will be fewer cheques? We still don't know at this stage.

If you haven't yet given and would still like to then please call 0800 082 82 84 or send your cheque made payable to St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal to Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 4JJ. If you are giving via the web do spare a couple of minutes to watch Jamie Winter's slideshow: The World Through the Eyes of a Homeless Photographer.

In the meantime we thought we would share this picture with you - the post being answered back in 1950 ...note the sign on the wall - 'PLEASE DON'T TALK' And what a lot of hats...

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Listen to the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal and make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Listen to Libby Purves' Received with Thanks about how your donations are used.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

You always feel nervous at 7.55am when you are waiting for the Vicar's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal to go out on air - will the phones really start ringing any second. But I need not have worried, our Radio 4 listeners don't let us down - they were ringing to give to this the 84th annual appeal all day on Sunday.

The Reverend Nicholas Holtam says: "The volunteers answering the phones were marvellous. I kept hearing snippets of conversation. Someone gave £5, someone else £1,000, I was really struck that as the volunteers left at the end of their shift answering the phones they nearly all said, "Thank you. It is a privilege to be able to help." This is a very personal appeal with a lot of warmth and generosity."

Many were moved by the story in Received with Thanks, Libby Purves' report back programme how the money from the appeal is spent, of the homeless man who gives his shoes to an older homeless man whose shoes had been stolen. One listener wrote a cheque but also sent two pairs of men's shoes with a note which read: "I hope you can make good use of these - I wish you well."

Others liked hearing from Rosemary Morgan who first heard the Christmas Appeal when she was growing up in Wales, "it touched a spot" and she has been giving to it ever since. She is now 81 years old. The current vicar of St Martins thinks she must have been listening to the Rev Eric Loveday who was at the church from 1941-1947.

If you haven't seen Jamie Winter's photographs and slideshow do spare a couple of minutes to take a look. We knew we wanted to put a slideshow together for this year's appeal and the idea emerged to give clients at the Connection disposable cameras. A photography group was set up and very quickly we realised how powerful these pictures were. Now that photography group has won the Talk Talk Digital Heroes award.

Ben Richardson who runs the group said: "the group are bowled over - it's a huge recognition and everyone is very excited about the potential for doing something in the new year... it opens doors."

These pictures have the power to reveal to us things we don't know about homelessness. Libby Purves says:

Meeting people at the Connection is always fascinating and - despite the harshness of the lives they have come from - oddly heartening. It is extraordinary to meet a young man like Jamie, emerging from a loneliness and alienation so traumatic that he did not speak for months, and find him friendly, creative, and above all filled with hope that he will have a home and a job before long. His achievement - still in progress - is considerable, but so is the achievement of those who over those long months stuck by Jamie, encouraged him, and suggested outlets for his considerable gift of quirky creativity. I felt honoured that he was willing to talk to me and show me his witty, thoughtful photographs.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• The Vicar's Christmas Appeal will be repeated at 3.25 on Thursday afternoon Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Received with Thanks will repeat at 3.45 on Thursday afternoon.
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.
• Picture of telephones by Dan Brady. Some rights reserved.

Have you ever wondered who will be on the end of phone when you ring up to give to the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal? Well if you hear the bells in the background you are through to the offices of St Martins in Trafalgar square where volunteers will answer the phones all day on Sunday - you might even get the vicar taking your call!

Gill - who is Assistant to the Controller of Radio 4 has answered the phones for many years she says:

What's special is getting a chance to talk to people all over the country, and it's lovely when in the background they can hear the bells of St Martins! We often talk about Radio 4 and the weather! Often callers have heard the broadcast and they say:'there but for the grace of God go I'. There's no complacency about our listeners, being homeless is not something that happens to other people, they understand how easily these things can happen.

Pam Rutherford is a BBC radio producer in the Science Unit:

Pam Rutherford.

I answered the phones a few years ago for the Radio 4 Christmas appeal and it was great fun and also quite moving at times. A few people who phoned up to make donations had similar stories of homelessness and had been helped out in the past by charities like the Radio 4 appeal. Their stories were inspiring. The vicar comes round and chats to you in the small gaps between taking phone calls! Basically it's great to help out with a charity that obviously does so much great work. I work about 500 metres down the road so I regularly walk past St Martin's and of course you often see homeless people around London so it's great to know there are places like The Connection and funds like the VRF which working to help them.

Last Sunday (28th Nov) Pam ran a marathon, raising money for the Christmas Appeal. Post marathon she said:

Err... it was very painful! I've done them before but this was the hardest ever - very cold and rainy. The charity was definitely a factor in keeping me going so thanks!

But don't be surprised if you get a Belfast accent. This year due to the volume of calls we took in 2009 we have recruited volunteers at the Capita call centre in Belfast where they answer our Radio 4 Appeal calls each week. They had plenty of desks and phones available on Sunday and offered to help out which is great.

Conor at Capita in Belfast:

We're looking forward to taking your calls on Sunday!

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal begins on Sunday morning at 0755. Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.
• Picture of telephones by Dan Brady. Some rights reserved.

Editor's note: this blog post begins with a slideshow made by homeless photographer Jamie Winter, a member of a photography group run by The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields - SB

I once edited a Radio 4 debate about homelessness... We based it in the heart of London near Shaftesbury Avenue. The platform was filled with good people who worked hard and we drew out policy differences and approaches in the way we do at the BBC. A little way into the discussion the hall began to fill up with homeless people. Soon it was packed and the debate took a different turn as we responded to the voices of those who lived on the streets.

The atmosphere sharpened and simmered. A young woman, dark, with long hair, spoke up. I recall she said something like this: "If we took all you do-gooders and put your salaries together and split them up we could buy a flat for all of us homeless... why don't you just stop talking for once and think about that." I often think of her when it's cold - good time now perhaps to stop talking and support the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal.

Gwyneth Williams is Controller of BBC Radio 4 and Radio 7

• The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal begins on Sunday morning at 0755. Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

Editor's note. You can make a donation to this year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal on the St Martin-in-the-Fields web site - SB

The service at St Martin-in-the-Fields for homeless people who have died in the past year never fails to move me. During the service the names of those who have died are read out, today it was 156 names, the names are interspersed with prayers, poems and music. It was after this service back in 2006 that I first met Dave McKane.

Dave had been rough sleeping for over 20 years and afterwards over tea and sandwiches we talked. He became part of that year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal - Received with Thanks programme, which reports on how the money from the appeal is spent. He told me: "they say that homelessness is easy to get used to, it's not, it's bloody hard work. You think you can survive but a lot don't." A reference I felt to the service we had both just sat through.

Dave was described as an entrenched rough sleeper, someone who it is really hard to move off the streets. I remember we chatted easily in the clothing stall - Dave selecting and describing the way to dress in layers to survive a winter on the streets, but he also talked about his darker moments when he would throw his rucksack in the Thames in anger or despair - or perhaps both.

Move forward two years - it's Autumn 2008 and as I start the recordings for the Christmas Appeal, staff at The Connection tell me I must interview Dave again - he's moved off the streets into a hostel. Dave poses for some photos, standing on the steps of the hostel recalling how when he first arrived the worker said "take that rucksack off" and how "to get the rucksack off was a relief". He proudly showed me his room and admitted that for the first week he slept in his sleeping bag on the floor, he was so unused to a bed. When he did finally 'hop into the bed' he slept for 23 hours. It was great to be able to tell Dave's story in the programme, to show that donations really could make a difference.

I've done the recordings for this year's programme and a theme that has emerged is that staff feel they must never give up on clients, even when those clients try to push them away, "they feel they're not worthy, we know they are". The work is painstaking, sometimes two steps forward, one step back, it takes patience. As I leave the church, after this year's service for those who died homeless, I pause to chat to one of the priests, then look behind me to see a tall man, smartly dressed in a dark suit with a black tie and yes it's Dave. He greets me with a hug, asks after my family and then tells me how he has moved into a flat now. I comment on how well he looks - he laughs and tells me he's looking after himself now. He loves cooking and where others might hate the trip to Tesco to get some supper, he 'could spend all day in there'! I ask if I can take his photo on the church portico.

We're now in the countdown to this year's appeal, over the next 3 weeks we'll be promoting it on air, on the Radio 4 website, on the Radio 4 facebook page and then on the 5th December we'll open the phone lines and hold our breath for that first call. Last year we raised almost £900,000 none of us know how that comes from this small 3 minute appeal - it's a bit of a minor miracle but I'm heartened by my chance meeting with Dave maybe he's a good omen for this year...

Sally Flatman is Producer of the Radio 4 Appeal

• Make a donation to this year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal on the St Martin-in-the-Fields web site.
• Learn more about The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields on the web site.
• The picture shows Dave McKane outside St Martin-in-the-Fields in London after the service. It was taken by Sally Flatman.

I remember 5 years ago - after my first Radio 4 Christmas at the helm - being amazed when I was told how much money listeners gave to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal (for the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields with homeless and vulnerable people across the UK). I knew of the existence of the Appeal (it has been around for 83 years since Lord Reith granted it) - but not its magnitude.

Every year I muse on the ratio of the amount of money donated to the number of minutes or hours of broadcast time devoted to publicising the appeal. And my hunch is that this ratio is astonishingly high for Radio 4. It is both true and excellent that Children in Need/Comic Relief do so well. They raise tens of millions in a terrifically entertaining way. That takes many hours.

The Radio 4 Christmas appeal is a tad quieter on-air. The Vicar, Revd. Nicholas Holtam launched it early on a Sunday morning in mid-December and we did a programme on how the money raised makes a difference to those who received it. And there have been other on-air reminders.

By the twelfth day of Christmas, the appeal had raised over £700,000, which is just below what was raised in the whole of last year's appeal - despite the recession.

One of our Radio 4 Appeal charities recently put it rather beautifully when they said: "we were so moved by how our appeal touched the hearts of so many generous strangers". I can only echo that sentiment for this year's Christmas Appeal and say 'thank you' on behalf of Radio 4.

Mark Damazer is Controller of BBC Radio 4

• Make a donation to the BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal, supporting work with homeless and vulnerable people across the UK.
• Listen to the 83rd Annual BBC Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal and Libby Purves' Received with Thanks on the Radio 4 web site.
• More information at the St Martin's web site and The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields web site.
• The Radio 4 appeal has a Wikipedia entry, which also covers the Christmas appeal.
• The picture shows a beneficiary of St Martin's work with the homeless with his new birth certificate. Paying for replacement documents is one of the simple things St Martin's can do to help vulnerable people get back to work and a stable life. It was taken by producer Sally Flatman.