Bruce Forsyth with Tess Daly
And the fleet-footed 83-year-old host of TV's ballroom sensation Strictly Come Dancing is determined to help prevent older people waltzing into a worrying winter.
Sir Bruce said: ''I'm so delighted to be supporting this campaign, which can help save lives this winter.
"To think of people dying of cold in this country because they can't afford enough heating is really distressing and if I can help make a difference I am very happy to support Saga's call on behalf of the Community Foundation Network's Surviving Winter appeal.''
The statistics once a cold snap gets a grip in the UK are shocking. Did you know, for example, that every winter, thousands of older people die due to the cold – nine an hour last year? Government figures show that around 20,000 more people aged over 65 die every winter than in any other season. This year, with fuel prices rocketing, the number could be much higher.
Here at Saga, we are determined to find a way to help. So we’ve teamed up with the Community Foundation Network’s Surviving Winter appeal. It started with one simple aim – to ‘recycle’ money from people who feel they don’t need their Winter Fuel Payment to others who do. Along with Sir Bruce, celebrities such as Sir Terry Wogan, Sir David Jason, Dame Helen Mirren, Michael Eavis and Denise Robertson have pledged their support to keeping needy people warm and well this winter. Some pensioners feel they don’t really need the Winter Fuel Payment and they instigated this campaign in a few areas of the country last year. It proved a great success. This year we are helping to take it nationwide.
Saga, of course, fully supports the Government’s tax-free payment of up to £300: it is a valuable help for pensioners with their fuel bills. However, we feel it is also important, as part of a caring society, to find ways to help the estimated one in three UK pensioners in ‘fuel poverty’: those whose fuel costs are more than 10% of their total income. If you can afford to, please help this most ‘fuel-anthropic’ venture. Donations of whatever size are welcome – and from those who don’t receive the payment too!
How will it work? The Community Foundation Network – a charity with a strong track record in handling large national collections such as the Big Lottery’s £50m Fair Share Trust programme – is coordinating this campaign. Community foundations link donors to expert local organisations that meet community needs.
Where will the money go? All the money raised from this Saga Magazine appeal will be used to help older people struggling in the cold weather. It will go towards heating, eating properly and staying in contact with their community.
Who you’ll help. Last year a pilot scheme ran in Somerset to test the venture. It demonstrated powerfully how much need there is, and how much people can benefit from this help. Mrs H, in her eighties, had been admitted to hospital with hypothermia. By the time she was well enough to go home, extra heaters had been installed in her house, funded from the Surviving Winter appeal. She is now warm, well and happy and wrote to say a big thank-you to all who made it possible.
How to donate. If you can afford it, donate using the methods below – either an amount equal to the Winter Fuel Payment you will be receiving in mid November or any other sum.
UK taxpayers, please fill in the Gift Aid form. It will add tax relief to your donation, which can help to cover the small costs of administration.
Click here to donate online.
Donate by post:
Please make cheques payable to: Surviving Winter Appeal. Click here for a printable donation form and post to:
Surviving Winter Appeal, Community Foundation Network, 12 Angel Gate, 320–326 City Road, London, EC1V 2PT
Join the discussion on Saga Zone
Winter fuel allowance thread