Back at the very beginning of December, we got in touch with the Heart of England Community Foundation to talk about their Surviving Winter Campaign. The Heart of England supports the local voluntary sector across the West Midlands, and helps them to access a range of grants and funding programmes by working with donors like us. As part of our expanding growth in the UK, we chose to work with the Heart of England Community Foundation to focus on the issues that matter in the West Midlands.

The £10,000 donated by Human Appeal has supported six local organisations and provides support for marginalised individuals suffering from food poverty, social isolation and homelessness. Using these funds, Heart of England Community Foundation has supported the Helping Hands project, Peggies Park Community Centre, God’s Coffee Shop, Foleshill Baptist Church, Thrive Together Birmingham and Volunteer Centre North Warwickshire with small grants to tackle some of the main issues facing disadvantaged people during winter.

All of these projects provide innovative, local and specialist services for the community. They have each received a grant that will enable more activities to be delivered, including tai-chi classes for older people, a mobile soup kitchen for the homeless and a brand-new project devoted to providing healthy and affordable meals in a social cafe.

At Human Appeal, we are determined to focus more of our resources on tackling UK issues and we are delighted to support the Surviving Winter campaign. We have also been successful in carrying out other projects across the UK this winter, including the Wrap Up Manchester initiative and a multi-faith homelessness Shelter in Leicester with One Roof.  We are really excited to be supporting such fantastic and exiting organisations in Coventry, Warwickshire and Birmingham.

Othman Moqbel, Chief Executive of Human Appeal, said of the initiative: “Human Appeal are determined to give help to those in need, regardless of who they are or where they’re from. We may be best known for helping people in desperate need in Syria, but we cannot ignore the humanitarian crisis at home. We are determined to end suffering, whether it is in East Aleppo or the West Midlands.” 

Tina Costello, Chief Executive of Heart of England Community Foundation said: “The Foundation is delighted to partner with Human Appeal UK, they have shown a real commitment to support our vision; tackling issues affecting thousands of people every year during winter. Local organisations now have an opportunity to showcase the support they offer thanks to this funding, making a real difference to the lives of everyday people. It’s a fantastic pledge and we’re hopeful our partnership will continue in the future.”

In the West Midlands, figures show that almost 250,000 people struggle to put food on the table, homelessness has increased by over 40% since 2010, and it is estimated that 60,000 older people live in social isolation. The Heart of England Community Foundations’ winter appeal hopes to make a small difference in supporting those affected by these issues; fulfilling their commitment to making local communities better places to live.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be publishing six incredible stories highlighting how these projects have made a unique difference in the local community.