‘Don’t need it? Donate it!’ Help us to raise £100,000 to combat fuel poverty in Suffolk with the Surviving Winter Campaign

Launch of Surviving Winter Campaign at the Suffolk Community Foundation

But for many residents, in Suffolk and across the country, wintertime brings with it a relentlessly cold period as the season of fuel poverty hits, putting them at risk of heart attacks, strokes and other serious health conditions.

Almost 10% of Suffolk households - a staggering 30,000 people - are living in fuel poverty, and in 2012/13 450 vulnerable people in Suffolk died from causes directly attributed to the cold and poor living conditions.

Countywide, around 184,000 people in Suffolk receive the winter fuel payment – a non-means tested benefit given to everyone over the age of 62 - which equates about a quarter of the county’s total population. Donating your payment to the Surviving Winter campaign, launched by the Suffolk Community Foundation in partnership with the East Anglian Daily Times and the Ipswich Star, Ipswich Building Society, Age UK Suffolk and the East of England Co-Operative Society today, could make all the difference.

The campaign, now in its fifth year, raised over £85,000 last year, helping more than 400 Suffolk households. This was the largest amount raised by any county in the UK. This year the foundation wants to raise £100,000.

Launch of Surviving Winter Campaign at the Suffolk Community Foundation

Terry Hunt, editor of the EADT and Ipswich Star, said: “This campaign is incredibly important. It is about saving lives.

“It is desperately sad that, in the 21st century, hundreds of vulnerable people in Suffolk die each winter because they are unable to keep themselves safe and warm.

“This is our opportunity to do something about it. Each year, Suffolk people show themselves to be so generous when it comes to supporting Surviving Winter.

“If you are able to make a donation, please do so. Each and every penny will go towards making a real difference for a vulnerable person in our county.

“Your donation could well save a life.”

Rosie Porter, from Age UK Suffolk, said: “The campaign can be an absolute lifeline. It means that people who may have had concerns about heating their homes and being comfortable throughout winter won’t have to worry. It takes away that danger of sitting at home in a cold house.

“If you are struggling with finances it can be a choice between buying Christmas presents for your family and putting the heating on.

“It’s incredibly important that older people aren’t afraid to put the heating on.”

To donate your winter fuel payment, visit www.suffolkcf.org.uk or call (01473) 602602, visit your local branch of Ipswich Building Society or fill in the form published (left/right) on this page.