Double Your Money and Help Save Lives
'Surviving Winter' Appeal launched to turn donations into grants and alleviate fuel poverty.
At least 600 people are likely to die in Wiltshire and Dorset this winter due to the effects of cold weather. Simple steps like extra insulation, more efficient heaters, and draft excluders, can save lives.
Thanks to an arrangement with another organisation, online donations to the Dorset appeal made between midday on 28 November and midday on 5 December will be doubled.
Donate to the Wiltshire appeal here
Donate to the Dorset appeal here
For the past few years, the two Community Foundations in our area have run an appeal to help the most vulnerable people get through winter safely. The Surviving Winter programme turns donations, often from people who receive the Winter Fuel Payment but feel that they don’t need it, into small grants for individuals who really could do with a bit of extra help.
It’s not just the oldest people who are at high risk. William from Calne was 50 when he received a grant last year. He gets by on a low income with disability allowance and said that the grant meant that he had enough money to eat as well as stay warmer.
Mrs Lyle received support from Dorset Community Foundation and says of her experience, "It sometimes felt like being sat in a prison because you are stuck in one room to keep warm. The Surviving Winter Appeal enabled me to put my heating on and gave me the freedom to sleep in my own bed as opposed to the settee. Most importantly it stopped me from having to go back into hospital and helped me live a life in the winter."
Bishop Karen is a patron of Dorset Community Foundation and says: "Surviving Winter is a great initiative. It enables grants towards heating costs be made to the most needy in our community from donations made by those who have no real need for their fuel allowance. Whilst some of us enjoy plenty, there are those who experience fuel poverty during the winter months, particularly those in our rural areas where large sums are required to ensure an oil delivery."
Donations are welcome from anyone, not just those who are able to ‘recycle’ their Winter Fuel Payment.
As mentioned above, donations to the Dorset appeal made between midday on 28 November and midday on 5 December will be doubled! A gift-aided donation of £200 will be worth £500 to the appeal; a fantastic contribution that will save lives over the coming months.
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