This is the 14th year we have run our Surviving Winter appeal and sadly the need is as great as ever. More than 20,000 people live in fuel poverty in Dorset and even though energy prices have lowered slightly, the rising cost of living means those on pensions and benefits are less able to keep their homes warm.
The constant worry about paying bills means many older and vulnerable people skip meals and heat just one room for a few hours a day. Living in a cold home makes respiratory and heart conditions far worse, not to mention the toll it takes on a person’s mental health. Each year an average of almost 600 people die of cold-related illness in Dorset. In 2024 we think that is unacceptable.
Our partnership with Citizens Advice in Dorset means we can identify older and vulnerable people at risk and give them the support they need. Thanks to our donors we can award £200 energy grants to to pensioners and vulnerable people aged 60 and over living in fuel poverty to ease their anxiety about switcjing their heating on.
Our partners at Citizens Advice help identify additional benefits they may be entitled to – including pension credits – as well as giving them supermarket vouchers and energy-saving advice and signposting to other agencies where they can get free home insulation and other energy help. The aim is to meet their immediate need and help them to be more resilient in future years.
In previous years we have asked our donors to support the appeal by ‘recycling’ the Winter Fuel Payment they receive from the government. With that payment now being restricted we hope you will still feel you can donate to the appeal. The cessation of the Winter Fuel Payment could tip even more people into fuel poverty, so your help is needed more than ever.
Donate now to our Surviving Winter appeal here
Follow the link above or send a cheque or bankers draft, made payable to Dorset Community Foundation, to The Surviving Winter Appeal, Dorset Community Foundation, The Spire, High Street, Poole, BH15 1DF. You can also donate through a BACS Transfer via: Charities Aid Foundation Bank, Sort Code: 40-52-40, Account Number:00083897 ( Please use reference – SW)
If you need any help donating call us on 01202 670815.
How your donation will help
We urgently need you to make a donation to provide warmth and comfort for older people and vulnerable people over 60 in our community.
We are working together with Citizens Advice branches across Dorset to disperse donations raised for older people in need across Dorset. If you need support please contact them on 01929 775500 or at energy@edpcitizensadvice.org.uk
How it all started
The Surviving Winter campaign started in 2011 as a vehicle to recycle Winter Fuel Payments that people had received but didn’t feel that they needed. The appeal quickly expanded to take in donations from people of all ages, and of all amounts, which are directed to the local groups supporting vulnerable people in winter. Donations pay for everything from individual grants for fuel bills and hot water bottles to boiler repairs.
Gift Aid your donation
If you are a UK Tax Payer please download, fill in and send to us the Gift Aid Form below.
