Every winter around 200 Wiltshire people die of cold and hundreds more struggle to pay their heating bills, says the Wiltshire Community Foundation.

It is launching its annual appeal today to highlight the problem and is calling for those who can afford to live comfortably this winter to donate to help those who can’t.

The foundation works with partner organisations, who identify those who really need help.

Last year it raised more than £70,000 and helped over 350 households.

CASE STUDIES

Ruth G from Calne is 85, disabled and lives alone. She relies on carers who visit three times a day because she is very immobile and has no family nearby. Her husband was also disabled, so while he was alive they received the relevant benefits.

Now she lives on her pension of just over £200 per week and her DLA of £400 per month. Her electric bills are around £1,000 per year.

“It’s been much harder since my husband died because his benefits and pension stopped overnight and my income went right down," she said.

"I like to pay my electric bills quarterly and I try to put the right amount by each week. The pension and DLA don’t go up like the bills and sometimes I only have 20p left at the end of the week. I cut down on food to save money by buying ready meals and I eat half a portion so they last 2 days.

"The council have put new radiators in, but I can’t afford to have them all on so I just live in two rooms. The grant from the Community Foundation is a wonderful help for people like me. Like lots of older people, I am afraid of winter because if I get ill it takes much longer to recover.”

The Foundation works with partner organisations, who identify those who really need help. Last year we raised over £70,000 and helped over 350 households.

Madge Dunham, from Salisbury, received a Surviving Winter grant last year having been referred by Age UK Salisbury District. They discovered she was eligible for Attendance Allowance which has increased her income by £53 per week.

“I hadn’t heard of the Community Foundation before," she said.

"I really needed the grant last year and was making do with old clothes and going without food so I could pay the bills. But now I am better off and I am so grateful.”

One thank-you letter sent by a Mr B, of Swindon, said: “Many thanks for the cheque… this will help me a great deal… I am trying to live on less than £300 a month, it is very hard… thank you for your kindness.” 

Jon Yates, the foundation's development director, said: "Madge is a good example of the wider benefits of this campaign. She won’t need the grant again this year so we will be able to help someone else instead.

"We work in partnership with other voluntary sector organisations, who provide grant recipients with specialist advice on energy efficiency, benefits, home improvements and health.

"According to ONS there are nearly 30,000 people in Wiltshire are living in fuel poverty and we believe they should not be left to suffer.

"Surviving Winter is a simple and efficient way to alleviate genuine need in Wiltshire and is a straight forward money in, money out appeal with 100% of all donations going directly and only to someone who really needs it.”