The Helping Hand is offering important cost-of-living assist to UK charities | UK | News | EUROtoday

As the price of residing disaster continues to see many individuals rigorously selecting the place to spend their hard-earned cash, the monetary affect of the present financial local weather has despatched shockwaves throughout all walks of life.

With many companies struggling to maintain afloat, charities are among the many hardest hit by lack of funds with smaller, extra regional organisations usually being ignored by these with the facility to assist out.

Refusing to disregard the cries for assist from those that want it most, NatWest has made it its mission to assist charities and companions throughout the price of residing.

On January 11, 2023, the banking group introduced new value of residing assist, a part of which is an additional £5.7 million hardship fund to assist charities and companions by way of these troublesome instances.

Aiming to have interaction colleagues and communities and harness the facility of human connections, £1 million of this funding has been allotted to NatWest Regional Boards to disburse to extra native charities, with £160K going to every area.

A serving to hand

Appropriately named, the Helping Hand fund offers direct monetary assist to struggling communities and permits NatWest in England, NatWest Cymru in Wales, Royal Bank of Scotland in Scotland and Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland to offer tailor-made assist to charities and organisations throughout the nation.

Aiming to make it possible for these most in want got the chance to entry this important funding, financial institution colleagues who dwell and work in every area have been invited to place ahead charitable teams which are making a distinction of their group.

Not solely does this assist make sure that native funding will get to the place it’s wanted most, but it surely additionally permits the Regional Boards (who allocate the cash) to usher in colleagues from all areas of NatWest Group collectively to assist ship purpose-led work of their areas.

Speaking concerning the significance of NatWest introducing this mission, Raghu Narula, NatWest’s managing director and head of buyer engagement and distribution, stated: “The continued rise in the cost of living is impacting people, families, and businesses in the UK. As a bank, whether through our direct work or via channels such as colleague volunteering, we are always keen to make life better for our communities.

“Our colleagues are your neighbours and may see first-hand the assistance that folks need and want, and we wished to present them the chance to make a distinction. With that in thoughts and following session with strategic companions, The Power of a Helping Hand and our wider Cost of Living programme turned a actuality.”

The NatWest funding aims to help people and communities from a range of backgrounds, circumstances and regions by supporting the local charities and organisations that provide important care and support to those who need it most.

Raghu Narula continued: “We are hoping to achieve the individuals who want it most – from foodbanks to pals’ networks. It is essential that nobody feels remoted. From breakfast golf equipment in Dorset to most cancers care programmes in Stornoway, there’s all kinds of initiatives being supported however they’ve a typical thread – they’re bettering the lives of others.”

There are several regional boards in operation across the UK helping deliver the bank’s purpose-led strategy at a local level, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, Midlands, Wales, London and the South East and the South West.

One fantastic charity that has benefitted from the funding is Dundee Bairns. Dedicated to helping children living in poverty in Dundee through the provision of food, clothing, activities and other essentials, the charity’s mission is to ensure that every child has access to basic necessities regardless of their circumstances.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s collaboration with Dundee Bairns began after the bank told staff to pick a charity to benefit from its Cost of Living Fund.

Katie, who also manages both Dundee Chief Office and Dundee Kingsway branches, said: “Dundee Bairns’ Project Manager, Genna Miller got here out and did a presentation for us and had us all crying, telling us about all of the work that they do. As quickly she left, all of us agreed that is the charity for us.”

The collaboration has seen Royal Bank donate £10,000 to the charity. But, just as importantly, colleagues have themselves become heavily involved in its work. In total around 30 employees have pitched in, helping to deliver 27,000 meals over the summer holidays and raising an extra £8,000.

Katie said: “It’s such a straightforward factor to do to assist, however with out the volunteers, they cannot ship that programme. To some children that may be the one meal that they get that day.”

Supporting communities

According to the latest analysis from NatWest, customer spending on critical items such as utilities is up just over 30% year on year – and fuel is up by almost 20%. NatWest also found that 67% of customers on the lowest incomes are now spending more than 10% of their monthly incomings on energy. The cost of living is having an impact on everyone.

Whether they are struggling due to rising costs or other forms of hardship, Love, Amelia is a charity based in Sunderland that supports children and families through tough times. Speaking about why these kinds of charities are essential means of support, Steph, chief executive at Love, Amelia said: “One of the households we’re serving to on the minute have a four-year-old little one so we have been in a position to give them a doll and a pram and a few blocks in order that they’ll study and play and simply be a child.

“Kids should be able to just have fun and not have to worry about not even having a pair of shoes on their feet. When we find out the reasons of why people are coming in, you see the challenges that families are facing.”

When requested if different banks ought to supply comparable programmes if they do not already, Raghu Narula stated: “Over the last year, the bank has provided £40 million worth of financial support to help customers and community partners with the increasing costs of everyday living via partner organisations including the Federation of Small Business, the Trussell Trust and Responsible Finance. It is clear that banks, like so many institutions, are trying to help.

“Education is essential too. We’ve launched a brand new value of residing hub on our NatWest web site and lots of the initiatives we’re supporting through Helping Hand embrace instructional programmes.”

With the £1 million Helping Hand fund forming part of a wider commitment to help local communities and organisations, Provision House (formerly Loaves ‘N’ Fishes) is a charity based in Dudley in the heart of the Black Country in the West Midlands and has also benefitted from the NatWest funding.

Providing furniture, household essentials, clothing, food, advice and training to families and individuals who are in need, the funding from NatWest has enabled the charity to continue helping those whose lives are a daily struggle due to the hardship that they face.

Another charity that has benefitted from the NatWest Helping Hand fund is Street Friends. Looking after the people who spend time on the streets of Aberdeen in search of food, Abi, project leader at Street Friends said: “Street Friends are additionally concerned in a mission known as Homewards Aberdeen.

“We know it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of time, but hopefully we’ll start seeing results in the next year or two and by 2028 there shouldn’t be any homeless in Aberdeen.”

From offering meals for households and funding psychological well being assist to serving to folks develop expertise and expertise for work and social alternatives for many who would in any other case be remoted, greater than 100 organisations from throughout the UK have benefitted from the grants to date.

To discover out extra concerning the Helping Hand fund, and to see different methods wherein NatWest helps companies, charities and companion organisations by way of the price of residing disaster, go to the web site right here