Surviving Winter Appeal 2021 – people in Cornwall need your help to survive this winter

We have launched our Surviving Winter 2021 campaign and appeal to anyone who receives the Winter Fuel Payment but does not need some or all of it, to donate the payment to the campaign. Donations are also welcome from people who do not receive the Winter Fuel allowance wishing to support the campaign.

The Surviving Winter campaign is a beacon of light for people experiencing difficult and challenging times. The aim is to help vulnerable people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly stay warm and well in winter.

Last winter, the Surviving Winter fund awarded 42 grants to community groups totalling £36,540. 633 households and 27 homeless people received support to stay warm, with the funding reaching 1767 individuals. The average size of grant distributed to people needing help was £55.

Leigh Yates of the Sparkle Foundation, one of the community groups who distributes small grants says, “We value the funding from Surviving Winter so much. Not only does the fund create practical warmth so people can heat their homes, it provides the warmth of mental well-being for people who often have to anguish over whether to heat or eat. The small grants to individuals and families achieve so much and make a real difference.”

Many of the community groups Surviving Winter supports are reporting that the challenges for vulnerable people living in poverty and in homes with poor heating and insulation are more severe this year than at any time previously. In Cornwall, one of the poorest areas of the UK, 6.5% of respondents to a recent Cornwall Council survey said they have not always known where their next meal is coming from or have eaten less than they need during the pandemic.

Sparkle’s Leigh Yates continued, “We found a family with three siblings who were arriving in school wet and freezing cold because their parents couldn’t afford coats. The three coats provided were transformational for those children. We also helped a grandmother in Redruth whose husband had been injured in an accident. The couple cared for their adopted grandson and were struggling to pay for heating. Living in perpetual cold is a debilitating experience.”

Tamas Haydu, CCF CEO said, “Surviving Winter is a really direct way to support those who will struggle this winter. The money raised from the Appeal will be awarded to carefully-assessed, grassroots Cornish organisations who help individuals struggling in their communities.”

To donate your winter fuel allowance to the Surviving Winter campaign or, if you do not receive the allowance and would still like to donate, please click here.

Click for this year’s Winter Wellbeing Guide from Cornwall Council.