SAVE the Children is warning that costs associated with colder weather are driving a surge in the number of families across the UK seeking out emergency financial support, as it provided more than twice as many grants to struggling families during the winter months compared to summer over the last three years.
With high energy prices predicted to become the ‘new normal’, the children’s charity is sounding the alarm on the significant financial strain that winter expenses are placing on families who are already grappling with the cost of living.ii Based on data from the past three years, the charity expects to see a surge in applications for its emergency grants through winter 2024/2025.
With almost a third of children now living in poverty in the UK, and that figure expected to rise, the number of families in need of additional sources of financial support is increasing. However, the charity is finding it increasingly hard to meet this demand due to a reduction in donor funding caused by business cost pressures and rising inflation. So far in 2024, the number of grants Save the Children provided to young families dropped by 17% compared to the same period in 2023, despite the ongoing need.
Save the Children’s Early Years Grants help to ease the pressure on families facing a financial crisis. Delivered via a network of local partners, the grants provide up to £340 to help parents cover the costs of essentials for their family, including supermarket vouchers and household items, as well as supporting children’s learning and development at home.
To help continue this vital work, Save the Children is urging the public to get involved in its annual festive fundraiser, Christmas Jumper Day, which takes place on Thursday 12th December. The charity is hoping to raise over £3 million to ensure some of the most disadvantaged children in the UK and around the world stay safe, healthy and learning.
Rhianna, a 23-year-old mum of two, soon to be three, from Sheffield who received a Save the Children Early Years Grant in 2023 said:
“I was in a constant state of worry last winter. I spent so much on keeping the house warm, that I didn’t know if we’d have enough left for food for each week or where I was going to get the money to pay for the children’s clothes. I was careful with every penny, but money just disappeared on my energy bills, and I was a ball of stress. The Early Years Grant allowed me to stock up on tinned and frozen essentials, which eased the pressure on finding money to feed my family. The books in the pack also helped to spark my toddler’s interest in reading, meaning we could make special memories at bedtime. The whole experience has been a game changer for us.”
Dan Paskins, Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children said:
“Parents and caregivers up and down the country are facing yet another bleak winter struggling with perpetually unaffordable energy prices. Families are being forced to make terrible sacrifices as the cost of heating their homes eats into what they have to spend on everyday essentials such as food, clothing or activities for their children. Our Early Years Grants make a huge difference to children across the country, but millions across the UK are still in urgent need of support. To help ensure this vital work continues, we’re encouraging as many people as possible to don their favourite second-hand sweater and donate what they can this Christmas Jumper Day.”
To take part in Christmas Jumper Day, all people need to do is dig out a pre-loved festive sweater, wear it on Thursday 12th December or another day that suits them best and donate £2 or whatever they can afford to Save the Children at: christmasjumperday.org.
