In Dorset there are 35,000 people living in fuel poverty and this winter many of them will be forced to make a choice between heating and eating. That’s why, for the past 15 years, we have run our annual Surviving Winter appeal and why we are asking for your help.

We partner with Citizens Advice in Dorset to 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 ease their anxiety about having the heating on.

We need to act because each year there are around 500 avoidable excess winter deaths each winter in Dorset, with national research estimating that more than a fifth are attributable to cold homes. In 2026 we think that is unacceptable.

How your support helps 

We know our funding makes a difference. It enables Citizens Advice advisers to help identify additional benefits clients 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.

One grant recipient told us: “We were struggling with the rising costs of our fuel bills and inflation and were having to put extra money on our meters to keep warm. We were having problems with our finances also at this time so had to sort that out, which caused more worry and concern. We visited Citizens Advice and they applied for us. We found the grant to be extremely useful, it was so much appreciated.”

How you can help 

If you receive the Winter Fuel Payment but think you don’t need it, or all of it. You could recycle that money and help save a life.

You can donate: 

1. Online here. 

1. Send a cheque or banker’s draft made payable to Dorset Community Foundation to Surviving Winter Appeal, Dorset Community Foundation, The Spire, High Street, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1DF 

1. BACS Transfer via: Charities Aid Foundation Bank, Sort Code: 40-52-40, Account Number: 00083897 (Please use reference SW). 

1. Over the phone by calling our office on 01202 670815. If nobody is available to take your call, please leave a message and we will call you back. 

Thank you for caring – your help will make someone’s winter a little warmer and brighter. 

** If you need energy support from Citizens Advice, please contact them on 01929 775500 or at energy@edpcitizensadvice.org.uk ** 

_{Contacting Citizens Advice}

If you need support contact Citizens Advice on 01929 775500 or at energy@edpcitizensadvice.org.uk

_{Gift Aid your donation}

If you are a UK Tax Payer please download, fill in and send to us the Gift Aid Form below.