In December 2024, we raised funds for National Prison Radio via The Big Give Christmas Challenge. This was our first ever public-facing fundraising campaign and with your help, we hit our target!
National Prison Radio is the world’s first national radio station for people in prison. We provide radio production and presenter training in prisons. Trainees create inspiring programmes which provide essential information and powerful motivation to our audience of up to 80,000 people behind bars.
Our award-winning work, made by prisoners for prisoners, inspires long-lasting positive change, and a reduction in reoffending.
To continue running National Prison Radio, and continue changing and saving lives behind bars, we rely on public and private donations from people just like you.
We are so proud of what we achieved together during December’s week-long campaign but if you missed out on the opportunity to join in on the action, you can still support by making a donation:
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Check out latest campaign updates on our social media:
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Who are we?
We are the Prison Radio Association. Through the power of radio and podcasts, we are helping to support some of the most vulnerable people in society; giving them tools to cope with life after release, showing them a pathway away from crime.
What is National Prison Radio and why is it important?
We work alongside serving prisoners to produce, record and broadcast National Prison Radio; the world’s first national radio station for people in prison.
People in prison are among the most marginalised individuals in our society. With 47% lacking qualifications, 29% having experienced childhood abuse, and 34% having attempted suicide, the challenges they face are immense. Stigma surrounding custodial sentences further exacerbates their struggles, with over 25% returning to prison due to limited access to housing, support, and meaningful employment.
Through National Prison Radio we are able to provide:
• Reliable, clear signposting to opportunities, resources, and services for people in prison
• A sense of positive community
• Opportunities to gain new skills and find pathways into employment within the creative sector and beyond
• Rehabilitative audio content which supports people to improve their wellbeing and future prospects
National Prison Radio is a 24 hour, 7 day a week service that benefits up to 80,000 people in prison across England and Wales every single day.
You can only tune in to National Prison Radio from inside a prison cell. But to give your ears a taste of the good stuff, here is 24 hours of National Prison Radio, in two minutes:
“Whoever came up with National Prison Radio, thank you for making it and keeping it going all these years. You don’t understand how much it means to me and how much it saved me. If it wasn’t for your radio station I wouldn’t be alive today.”
National Prison Radio listener – HMP Durham