Tag: Family Fund

Winter warmer bundles provide emergency help as cold weather bites

As wintry weather takes hold, a winter warmer bundle provided by a charity’s trading arm is flying off the shelves to help people on a low income keep warm and cook a hot meal in the months ahead, while keeping energy bills down. 

The winter warmer bundle includes items such as a thick blanket, oil filled radiator, microwave, slow cooker and air fryer and is being supplied to grant-makers trying to keep people warm and fed. 

It has been put together by Family Fund Business Services, the trading arm of charity Family Fund, the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families with disabled and seriously ill children, living on a low income.   

Family Fund supports families with grantsfor essential items such as kitchen appliances, clothing, bedding, sensory toys, computers and tablets, much-needed family breaks.   

The charity used its expertise in procuring large quantities of essential goods from suppliers, to set up its own company, Family Fund Business Services, which gifts 100% of its profits back to the charity.

Phil Henderson, director of Family Fund Business Services said: “For our winter warmer bundle we have worked hard to get urgent access to value-for-money quantities of air fryers, slow cookers, thick blankets and oil filled radiators from suppliers.  

“This means that they are readily, and easily, available for organisations such as local authorities and other charities to provide them for people struggling with the cost of living this winter and seeking emergency help to keep warm and make hot food.  The demand for our winter bundle is growing by the day”. 

Family Fund Business Services secures income through its expertise and collective buying power for essential goods with suppliers. It works on behalf of other charities, local authorities and housing associations seeking to help people in need

It provides value-for-money, easy access to thousands of essential products, including washing machines, furniture, energy vouchers and food vouchers for organisations supporting those facing hardship such as veterans, refugees and those struggling financially to meet their most basic needs. 

Phil Henderson added: “The winter warmer bundles demonstrate a unique business model which delivers social value twice over.

“The expertise of Family Fund Business Services in securing cost-effective contracts for essential goods with suppliers,  means the money of local councils, charities and other organisations goes further to help those in greatest need.

“But its work also helps to secure the future of the Family Fund charity so that Family Fund, in turn, can carry on its vital work of helping even more families with disabled children on a low income.”  

Profits from Family Fund Business Services has helped the charity significantly increase its reach. Last year, Family Fund provided over 170,919 grants and services worth over £37 million to families across the UK. 

Family Fund open for applications

As the cost of living crisis deepens, families in Scotland raising disabled, or seriously ill children, on low incomes have the chance to secure critical support from a national charity.

Family Fund, the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families with disabled and seriously ill children, provides essential items for families including kitchen appliances, clothing, bedding, play and sensory equipment and family breaks.

Last year, it delivered over 170,919 grants and services, worth over £37 million, to families on low incomes across the UK.  

Thanks to ongoing funding from the Scottish Government, the charity can continue to support families across Scotland.

With winter approaching this is timely help, as a recent Cost of caring report by Family Fund shows that nine in 10 families are struggling, or falling behind with their regular household bills and many are forced to forego living essentials such as food, heating, basic furniture like beds, flooring, washing machines and fridges, to try to make ends meet.

In the latest poll of UK families in September, almost 60% reported an average increase in household bills of £124 a month. On top of this their average monthly food bill has gone up by £189 over the year.

Cheryl Ward, Chief Executive of Family Fund, said: “We urge eligible families in Scotland to come forward with an application to secure help through these difficult winter months.

“Our research shows it costs three times as much to bring up a disabled child as other children, with many families unable to increase their income due to round-the-clock caring responsibilities.

“As prices continue to rise and winter approaches, many families tell us they are gravely worried about how they will survive the coming months.

“Family Fund is here for support now so please come forward to apply.”

Reece’s story:

Six-year-old Reece has autism and lives in Glasgow, with his mother, Olivia, and older brother, Justice, 20.

Olivia explains: “When Reece was younger, he had speech and developmental delay and was diagnosed as autistic at the age of three. Now that Reece is six years old, he’s still behind in his development. Reece can repeat what others say and he does understand what people mean but he can’t speak his own words yet. Additionally, he is still behind with his toileting as he continues to wear nappies.

“Reece attends a specialist school. They’re helping him a lot to better his understanding and to engage more. Generally, Reece enjoys school except when it’s noisy. He has sensory issues so he dislikes certain loud sounds.

“Reece finds it frustrating that we currently live in a flat without a garden. The lack of space is hindering his development since he loves the outdoors. He really enjoys jumping and swinging. When we’re outside he likes collecting sticks. Reece also likes to spin a lot and even though he can’t speak, he still makes sounds from his mouth, so people often stare but I try to explain his condition to people as much as I can.

“At the moment, I receive two days of respite care which I use to study for my degree.

“The cost of living crisis has greatly impacted the cost of my bills. We haven’t been able to afford other things as much as we used to. I can barely buy a full basket of food nowadays so I have to improvise my cooking. Sometimes I have to leave myself out of the meal and just eat snacks so that my children can eat.”

How Family Fund has helped

Olivia said: “Family Fund is very helpful, especially to families on a low income. Without the grants we wouldn’t be able to afford things so important to a child’s development.

“We received a sensory grant which we used to buy a colour changing bubble machine which Reece loves. It helps to calm him down.

“We also received a fridge freezer grant. Our old fridge was broken and too small. The grant from Family Fund allowed us to buy a newer, and bigger, fridge which was better for our family. Without the grant we would have had to wait a long time to get a new one.

“The most recent grant we received was a Haven family break grant [that] gave us a chance to get away on holiday to the seaside which Reece loves a lot. The Haven site has a lot of activities to do all under one roof. The break gave us peace of mind and it was beautiful to see Reece happy and calm. He was so content with everything around him.”

Eligible families in Scotland are encouraged to apply as soon as possible by visiting Grants: Scotland | Family Fund or calling 01904 550055

Charity urges more families to apply for support for disabled young adults

A forward thinking national charity scheme which aims to improve quality of life and independence for young disabled adults aged 18-24, is calling for families to apply for the much-needed support.

Faced with three times higher costs to raise a disabled child or young adult, the current cost-of-living crisis is deeply challenging for families – now finding it even harder to afford the things their disabled young person needs to transition to adulthood- including technology, training and leisure activities.

National charity Family Fund is urging families with an 18-24 year old young adult to apply for wide-ranging grants through its Your Opportunity scheme, set up three years ago to help young disabled adults lead more fulfilling lives and realise ambitions.

The scheme has so far supported over 2,000 families and funds are available to help over 1,000 more young adults by next spring.

Family Fund, is the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families living on a low income, raising disabled and seriously ill children and young people.

Cheryl Ward, Family Fund’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Raising a disabled or seriously ill child is three times more expensive than raising other children .When a child reaches 18, we know they lose an average of 57% of the support and benefits they had before they reached adulthood so costs are even higher for families.

“This financial cliff-edge can be very tough for parents and carers of young adults, but when the cost of living is rising ever higher, and families are having to cut down on essentials like food and heating, there is little room for the extras which improve a young person’s quality of life.”

Your Opportunity grants include:

·       computer or tablet grants to support young people with further education, online hobbies and the overall building of independence;

·       transport costs for bus fares for appointments, or to support independent travel to clubs or hobbies;

·       help with the cost of membership fees, season tickets, computer games, and music systems to promote recreation and days out;

·       help with the costs of buying a provisional driving licence, and other learning materials to support driving ambitions;

·       white goods to help with independence, or help make mealtimes easier for carers;

·       sports, or lightweight, wheelchair to enable participation in sport activities, or access to activities that would not be possible with a day-to-day wheelchair.

The Your Opportunity scheme was initially set up in 2019 by Family Fund with a donation of £500,000 over five years from the Edward Gostling Foundation.  The Foundation has committed to continue the funding for the next ten years.

The success of the scheme has also led to the Pears Foundation providing grants of £600,000 over two years.

Cheryl Ward added: “We are extremely grateful to The Edward Gostling Foundation and the Pears Foundation for recognising the need to plug the gap in support and we are proud to be working with them to improve the lives of so many young people.

“We are committed to continue to grow this income further.”

Families are eligible to apply if the young person lives at home with their parent or main carer.

Families interested in making an application for a young person should go to:

Your Opportunity: Help for 18-24 year-olds | Family Fund