We’re allocating £200,000 to four local charities to help pensioners with the significant rising cost of living.
It was funded through a £694,000 grant to West Berkshire Council from the Department of Work and Pensions to support residents over the summer (April to September) where residents were in need of help with rising living costs and free school meal vouchers.
With pensioners among those likely to be most affected, some of the £694,000 grant was set aside specifically for residents of pensionable age. To help provide this assistance, £50,000 is being allocated to each local charity: Greenham Trust, Age UK Berkshire, Age Concern and the Volunteer Centre West Berkshire.
You can find out more about this here.
Charities in Newbury are asking for people who can afford it to donate to the Cost of Living Crisis Appeal to support residents in desperate need.
Greenham Trust and West Berkshire Council have each awarded £50,000 of match funding, which means any grants and donations made will automatically be doubled up to £100,000. All funds raised will go directly to emergency food, energy poverty and homelessness prevention charities.
Chris Boulton, CEO of Greenham Trust, said: “Thank you for the very generous donations to the appeal so far. We want to help as many people as possible during this difficult winter. If you can afford to donate some of your £400 energy discount from the Government, please consider donating to the West Berkshire Emergency Cost of Living Crisis Appeal.”
You can donate to the appeal here.
The Household Support Fund is being extended to help residents this winter.
A further £694,000 will be available to support vulnerable residents over the winter (October to March) and available for online applications.
So far, the Household Support Fund has successfully helped support more than 2,400 households to pay for energy bills, food, clothing and wider essentials. The funding has also supported more than 4,000 children across West Berkshire by providing Free School Meal vouchers, recognising the additional financial pressure during this time.
The funding is limited and will be made available by an application process to assist vulnerable residents, pensioners and children across West Berkshire.
Anyone unable to apply online can contact our customer services team on 01365 551111.
Visit our website to apply for the fund.
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