Who are we?
Colne Valley Help was set up after the pandemic. 2 local mutual aid groups merged to form a single charity to support people living throughout the Colne Valley who are experiencing food poverty. When funding permits we also provide hardship grants for items such as cookers and fridges, as well as one off payments for gas and electric costs. We are run entirely by volunteers.
Impact
Every week we provide food and other household essentials to 50 households, this equates to almost 200 people. These include single people, families with children, older people and people with disabilities.
Why are we crowdfunding?
The cost of living crisis has created an increase in demand, more households are visiting us than at the same time last year. Many of these households need support with energy costs as well as food and toiletries. At the same time the cost of helping people has increased. As well as sourcing food from Fare Share, the national charity that distributes surplus food from supermarkets, we need to purchase food at the cost of about £1000 per month.
How we’ll spend the money raised
The funding we raise will be spent on purchasing food, toiletries and household cleaning products. We will also allocate some of the money to energy costs. Our average spend per household on food and essential items is £8. £20 will cover the gas costs of a household of 2/3 people.