Big Give

This December, keep families connected by supporting The Family and Friends Request Show, on National Prison Radio.

Get your donation doubled. Be the sound of change. Start donating from 12pm on Tuesday 1st December 2026.

This December, via the Big Give Christmas Challenge, we are raising funds for the Family and Friends Request Show – the National Prison Radio programme connecting people in prison with loved ones beyond the gate. Produced by women with lived experience, it also creates paid broadcasting opportunities for women rebuilding their lives after prison.

Around 200,000 children in England and Wales have a parent sent to prison each year. Once inside, families often struggle to maintain relationships due to distance, cost and limited visiting opportunities. Around 70% of people lose contact with friends and family when a loved one goes to prison. Yet prisoners who maintain family ties are 39% less likely to reoffend. Women leaving prison also face significant barriers to employment, with only 4% securing work within six weeks of release.

The Family and Friends Request Show is a weekly programme on National Prison Radio that helps people in prison stay connected with their loved ones through messages, song requests and voice notes.

It provides a trusted, accessible way to maintain family relationships despite barriers to visiting.

The show is produced and presented by women with lived experience of prison and creates paid training and employment opportunities in broadcasting for women leaving HMP Styal. It is also the only National Prison Radio show that can be listened to outside of prison cells.

This December we need to raise £15,000 to ensure this vital show can continue to be produced and broadcast.

We are proud to support families affected by imprisonment across England and Wales – and with your help, we can keep even more people connected:

“Thank you for helping to get my message and song request to my partner. It’s helping him cope as he is too far away for me to visit.

We’ve not seen each other in person for months, but your show means we can at least share something together.”

Family and Friends Show listener