Harpenden Trust today (16 March 2021) announces that thanks to the generosity of local residents and businesses, the total for its 2020 annual Care Fund Christmas Appeal stands at just under £65,000 – more than any other year previously.
Over the past year, donations to the Harpenden Trust’s Care Fund have enabled the Trust to help the community in a wide variety of ways. These include setting up the Harpenden Cares Contact Centre to answer over 2,000 calls for Covid-19 Pandemic support and assisting over 12 local GP practices with delivering oxygen monitors to local residents. In addition, the Trust has provided financial and practical support to over 565 local families, utility grants to over 80 local residents on low pensions and given befriending support to over 70 people in need of it – a number that continues to rise.
The annual Christmas Appeal is the main fundraising opportunity for the Harpenden Trust’s Care Fund. However, Covid-19 restrictions over the past year have meant that traditional fundraising activities, such the door to door collection, were not possible, making the Appeal total even more remarkable.
Richard Nichols, Chairman of the Harpenden Trust, said: “On behalf of the Harpenden Trust I would like to sincerely thank the Harpenden community for their extraordinary generosity. To find out that our total for this year is more than we have ever raised before in an Appeal, in a year which has been difficult for so many, is incredible. The money raised will make a real difference to supporting those most in need in our community.”
“There is a lot of work that goes into organising and supporting our annual Appeal so I would also like to thank Lynn Kennedy, our Appeal Director, and her senior team of volunteers, together with all the Area Organisers and street Appeal Collectors who have worked tirelessly this year in such challenging circumstances to bring the Appeal to life”, Richard continues.
The Appeal also benefitted from generous donations from many local businesses, as well as support from Jelleys, Totals Looks, Barclays, Santander, Sainsbury’s and the Goode Kitchen as donation drop-off or collection points.
As restrictions lift, the Harpenden Trust will also seek to reinstate its popular coffee mornings and outings for various sectors of the community, including seniors and families.
As well as the activities of the Care Fund, the Harpenden Trust is also currently playing a key role in the community in supporting local GPs' surgeries in organising the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations in Harpenden.
16 March 2021