500 together

This week is donation 116 and has seen us fund the purchase and fitting of a new gas cooker. We do feel lucky to have members who are involved in local organisations and charities, who work directly with individuals and families and who can come to us when they see a particular kind of need we might be able to help with. We are grateful to our member from the fantastic local charity Family Voice for making this nomination and explaining why it is so important: Family Voice works with isolated women in a holistic way for as long as needed. Most of the mums are incredibly resilient and spend a lot of time dealing with the complex problems in their lives, often for months on end. Living from crisis to crisis is common. Stress often builds up and people start to get more illness from living such hard lives.  So when a basic piece of equipment breaks at home and you can't fix it - it can sometimes feel like the straw that is going to break the camel's back!  We recognise when women

We  are pleased to be able to share news of donation 115, which goes to help a mum & her 2 young boys settle into a new home, and a new, safer life. One of our members, who is involved with the charity SHASBAH (Sheffield Association for Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus)  told us about Sharon, who she had recently met.  Sharon (not her real name) has come to resettle in Sheffield, having escaped domestic violence.  She has 2 children - a  4 year old who has autism and learning difficulties and a 2 year old who was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. Sharon has moved into a completely unfurnished home and is in desperate need of funds to buy items to provide stability for her two young boys who have these complex additional needs.  She has received some support from SHINE, the national Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus charity, to cover a hotel stay before being housed in a women’s refuge.  The refuge will give her £500 as a ‘new start’ payment, and continue to support her with

Today we have news of donation 114 - £500 to help a family keep their car on the road - which is particularly important for their circumstances. One of our members told us about her friend who has 3 children ,1 of whom is autistic with learning difficulties. They are a family who have been through a lot in the last 5 years - the father left the mother and has had very little contact with any of the children since. They became homeless and reached out for council housing, and have been housed but in very cramped conditions. Our member has been working as an advocate with the family (English not the first language for the mother) on a number of areas (housing etc). After a court battle she managed to get some maintenance from the father. Suddenly and without warning, as the father has lost his job, all maintenance has ceased. Our member has been helping her friend to work out what she can stop paying and what she needs to keep in a budget.  One of the expenditures she is desperately tryi

This donation of £410 has helped someone whose home was badly damaged by a flood from the flat above. A week before Christmas, Emma discovered water coming into her home from the flat above.  Her neighbour hadn’t been at the flat for some months and the emergency plumber had to get authorisation from their supervisor to break into the property to be able to turn off the water upstairs.  Emma said “ the water came down like a torrent in the hallway and down the walls and through light fittings/smoke alarms in every room. It was so bad it was coming out of the walls outside .” From the initial leak starting and her calling the emergency council number all in all it was 4.5 hours before the water was finally turned off. By then it was dark and the electricity wasn’t safe to leave on.  Emma had to pack up her frightened cat and a few things in the dark with a small torch and the council paid for a taxi to take her to her mother's one bed bungalow. She slept on her mother's floor fo