Tuesday 28th November is ‘Global Giving Tuesday’ and from midday to midday on the following Tuesday, 5th December, all online donations through this link will be doubled to the tune of £25,000.
Jon Yates, Chief Executive of the Foundation explained: ‘We are very pleased to have this opportunity to double donations to support local older people who are struggling during the winter months. The idea of people having to choose between heating or eating in this day and age saddens me greatly. Worse, recently released figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that during the winter of 2016/17 about 34,300 vulnerable people died across the UK because of the effects of the cold. In Dorset we see an average of 520 older people dying in this way, proportionately one of the highest numbers from across all counties. The Surviving Winter Appeal is based on the simple initiative of recycling unwanted winter fuel allowances from people who can live comfortably without them and using the money to provide a lifeline for older people in need in our communities.’
Mrs Lyle is one of the previous beneficiaries of the Appeal, she explained: ’I am a people person and I love people so when I’m on my own it gets very lonely and I find it very difficult to manage. It sometimes felt like being sat in a prison because you are stuck in one room to keep warm. The Dorset Community Foundation’s Surviving Winter Appeal enabled me to put my heating on and gave me the freedom to sleep in my own bed as opposed to the settee. Most importantly you stopped me from having to go back into hospital and helped me live a life in the winter.’
Last year the Surviving Winter Appeal raised just over £25,000 helping 90 local households. This year with the match funding opportunity the charity is aiming to raise £40,000 to help even more local older people at risk in Dorset.
To double donations (midday 28th November – midday 5th December) please donate via the following link.
Alternatively, please send a cheque made out to Dorset Community Foundation to The Spire, High Street, Poole, BH15 1DF.
