Surviving Winter Appeal
For two years, we have used our Surviving Winter Appeal to knit a network of Community Hot-Spots across Norfolk, providing warm, welcoming community spaces for neighbours to connect, keep warm, and find support on their doorstep.
This winter, Norfolk charities face unprecedented challenges as they work to support those struggling with the cost of living and those facing isolation. With the recent cut to the winter fuel payment, many older people who were just getting by will now face rising winter costs they can no longer afford. The impact will be felt deeply in our communities, as more people find themselves choosing between heating their homes and other essentials.
For us as a charity, the cut means even greater pressure. For years, we have called on local people to support their communities by donating their unwanted universal fuel payments—an ask we can no longer make. This has left us with a significant gap in funding, just as the need for these vital, local Community Hot-Spots is expected to surge.
What We’ve Learned from Year 2 of Community Hot-Spots
- Last winter, over 2,000 people visited our 110 warm spaces across Norfolk each week.
- Loneliness was identified as the main reason for visiting by almost 70% of Hot-Spots.
- Hot-Spots provided social connection all winter for just £20 per head.
- Over half of groups who ran a Hot-Spot in Year 1 ran one in Year 2, too.
- Several of groups kept their Hot-Spots running year-round, thanks to additional funding through Love Norfolk.
These spaces are not just a source of warmth, but a lifeline for many who would otherwise be isolated and struggling.
Funding Update: Community Hot-Spots 2024-25
This year, we’ve been able to fund 79 Community Hot-Spots across Norfolk, giving thousands of people a place to go to be warm and connected this winter. We were able to fund this many Hot-Spots thanks solely to generous contributions from local businesses and individuals in Norfolk who wanted to make a difference to people struggling in their county this winter.
These are just the Hot-Spots we’ve funded. You can find more community-based warm spaces via Warm Welcome, including all Norfolk libraries.
We know the nights are going to draw in. We know it’s going to get colder and colder. Soon, it will be turning on your lights and it will be trying to wrap up warm. Everybody is worried about it. And even when we get told ‘prices are coming down’, they’re still not in affordable in any way.
How can I help?
For too many households in Norfolk, this winter could be one of the toughest, coldest and most worrying.
We appreciate that budgets will be tighter for many of our usual donors this year, but for those that want to help, we’re calling on you to donate what you can. We need Norfolk to help Norfolk this winter. Helping to keep communities warm, connected and together, the Surviving Winter appeal transforms local lives each year. Help us make it a success this winter. The more support we have, the more we can help communities in our county.
Make your donation now via the form – every penny counts, no matter how small, and will enable local charities to provide essential help to some of the most vulnerable people in Norfolk from right now, through to spring.
Donate online quickly and securely, or alternatively please make a cheque payable to Norfolk Community Foundation (referencing ‘Surviving Winter’ on the reverse) and send it to Norfolk Community Foundation, First Floor, Carmelite House, 2 St James Court, Norwich, NR3 1SL.