The Rainy Day Trust is gearing up for a number of campaigning initiatives, fundraising activities and other support ideas to raise awareness and offer help to those in the industry who may be struggling as the cost of living crisis bites.
CEO Bryan Clover has outlined a number of areas in which people may be in need of support, and is reaching out to employers in the sector to ensure that their staff are aware of the services provided by the industry charity.
In a recent communication, Bryan explained:
This is what you and your staff can expect in the coming months:
- BT, EE, Plusnet, Shell, TalkTalk and Vodafone have put their prices up for telephone and wifi by about 9%.
- National Insurance is going by an additional £130 a year for someone earning £20k a year and about £505 a year for someone on £50k.
- Gas and electricity are going up by about £700 a year per household.
- Inflation is currently 5.4% but likely to go higher.
- Council tax is expected to rise by 3-5% in April. One local town council has increased their precept by a whopping 70%!!!
That adds up to household bills taking a real kicking in the coming months and for those that are struggling now, it is going to get worse; a lot worse.
We are your charity helping YOUR people, so please don’t sit back and ignore it hoping that it won’t happen because just like death and taxes, I can guarantee that this isn’t going to go away. We can help.
What can we do:
For all staff:
- Free debt advice.
- Free telephone counselling to tackle stress and anxiety.
- One hour free legal advice.
- Help tracking down local charitable assistance with all those other things that happen at home including health.
For those on lower salaries:
- Direct financial assistance with help towards household bills.
- Replacement of essential items like washing machines and fridges, or getting the car MoT’d.
- ‘Let’s Save Energy’ pack of free LED lightbulbs, eco shower heads and radiator reflectors to reduce energy bills by up to £300 a year.
- Education and training grants to upskill staff so that they can earn more.
- Fast help with mortgage, rent or council tax arrears to fight off eviction.
EVERYTHING that we do is completely confidential.
EVERYTHING that we do is designed to be a leg up not a hand out.
EVERYTHING that we do free at point of delivery.
So don’t be an ostrich, take that first step to helping your colleagues, here is a link to get the ball rolling:
Apply For Help – Rainy Day Trust or ring 0800 915 4627. And if you would like leaflet packs sending out to you, e-mail me via bryan@rainydaytrust.org.uk
#showyoucare
As an example, the Rainy Day Trust has recently produced a poster which can be printed out and put up in common areas around a branch or just forwarded on to staff that showcases its FREE ‘Let’s Save Energy’ pack. As referenced above, this outlines an offer of free LED lightbulbs, eco shower heads and radiator reflectors, along with a leaflet to help reduce energy usage at home that combined can reduce energy bills by up to £300 a year.
For the lowest paid, Bryan says that the charity can also help out with a grant towards energy bills and a “whole load of other support” from debt advice to free telephone counselling.
Bryan said: “Please please please forward this information to your staff. No matter who you are, a £50 a month hike in gas and electric prices is going to sting. Your salary structure is your business, but we can make a difference to the people that work for you. If they aren’t worrying about what’s going on at home, then they are more efficient at work.”
In terms of fundraising activities, the charity is gearing up for the Mad March Million 2022 and Bryan is asking for businesses to take part. He explained: “The concept of MMM is simple – getting out and about and just walking is great for your mental health. The open air allows you to clear your head of the regular stresses and strains and getting into a routine for a month helps because it forces you to go out each day to hit your step count.
“The concept is simple. a small team of 3 or 4 aims to walk a total of 1 million steps in the month of March – about 10,000 steps per day for each member, getting sponsored along the way.”
He added: “If you would like to join in, we will send you a water bottle for everyone that registers. Individuals can pay their own registration fee, or the company can pay for everyone. As Virgin Money Giving has now closed, fundraising would be through Just Giving this time. Last year some teams set up one fundraising page for the whole group, but others did individual pages – entirely up to you.”
The Rainy Day Trust is also encouraging businesses and individuals in the industry to participate in the Pennies from Heaven initiative. Bryan said: “All charities need sustainable and regular income that just trickles in to keep things afloat. We also need as wide a donor base as possible due to the volatility of the fundraising market and Covid-19 has proven beyond doubt that things can change at the drop of a hat and throw all of our plans in the bin.
“Pennies from Heaven is a very simple idea and one that will only cost donors a maximum of 99p a month. The concept is that if your net salary in a month is £851.29 then the 29p gets donated to us. It may only be a small amount, but if enough people do it, it will soon add up. PfH sort out the administration for you and minimise the workload at your end.
“Please take a look at the website and consider signing up and offering your staff the chance to support us with a few p each month.”
For more information, visit www.rainydaytrust.org.uk
