Our team have made it to Edinburgh safe and sound This week our cyclists took to the road from Dorking, Surrey on Saturday arriving in Edinburgh on Thursday!

The small group of dedicated fundraising cyclists have completed their epic ride from the top of Box Hill to Edinburgh in this years great sponsored event. The group pictured above include (inset) the two participating riders who have raised funds for AFTAID. Chris Babb (left) who is 28, has taken time off from being an Application Specialist for a medical company and describes himself as "a mad keen cyclist" -which he has proven! Inset right is our slightly younger rider James Price, 23. James is a recent graduate in Physiology and says he is a keen amateur cyclist. In further conversation we soon became aware that he is highly active in a wide range of sporting activities and his fitness has been jolly useful we are sure! We are truly thankful that all riders arrived safely in Edinburgh in the six day time frame, on Thursday, May 19. Our sincere thanks go to all the riders for making this such a substantial fundraising effort and to all involved at the organisers, RAISE magazine, for their much appreciated support. More details and pictures will be available soon.

In tough times where do we turn for good news?

It seems that almost every day new research is published that raises our already hightened levels of concern.

It is bad enough to look at the current situation for our pensioned community but we have a tsunami of proposed legislation and spending cuts to factor in for the immediate future. Much of it will be making it harder for the UK's eldest citizens to make ends meet.

Households face the most dramatic squeeze in living standards since the 1920s
Even the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, stated in a speech on February 1st that families will see their disposable income eaten up as they "pay the inevitable price" for the financial crisis, household income has been hit by sharp increases in the cost of food, fuel and tax (VAT).
Mr King stated that there has been no real rises in wages since 2005. "The Bank of England cannot prevent the squeeze on real take-home pay that so many families are now beginning to realise is the legacy of the banking crisis and the need to rebalance our economy." he said.

Sadly he did not offer a view on the plight of those even worse off - fixed income pensioners.

So where can we look for some positive news?
Well, we recommend our Case Studies or Thank You sections where you can see for yourself how donations to AFTAID really make the difference to seemingly insurmountable problems.
Please remember, it is your generosity that allows us to help where help is often desperately needed. If you can keep up your support it will be even more vital in the coming months and years. Thank you.

More info: Case Studies
More info: Thank You

AFTAID helps wire a Northumberland couple into safety

"It started about a year ago - it has been a nightmare!" was how Mrs Hamilton recently described the problems that have caused her and her husband so much worry.
Following a particularly violent storm, the kitchen extension roof in the home of Ronnie Hamilton, 74 and Alison his 70 year old wife, started to leak. If this wasn't bad enough, the ceiling light was affected.
The electrician who was called to repair this advised them that the wiring which had been installed when the house was built more than 40 years ago was badly worn and as such potentially dangerous. Clearly it needed replacing as soon as possible.
Full story...

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 25,400 pensioners died between December 2009 and March 2010 in England and Wales as a result of cold related illnesses.
The bulk of these 20,600 (or 81 percent) were aged 75 or over. Figures are not yet available for December 2010 - the coldest for 100 years.

Passing on heartfelt thanks from our beneficiaries to you, our valued supporters...
"...a new cooker, which after 28 years was a real treat. Words cannot express my gratitude... please accept my deepest thanks"
Mrs T. (85) - Bromley
"...thank you to you... who have helped to give me back my independents (sic) in my home. I really appreciate it. Thank you again"
Mrs M. (63) - Northampton

More info: Beneficiaries Thank Youo: Case Studies

COULD YOU ORGANISE A SPRING FUNDRAISER?
Spring is just around the corner and there is no better way to welcome it than organising or taking part in fundraising activities or events.
As the weather improves, people love to have somewhere to go where fun can be had, a good cause supported.
There are lots of great ideas encompassing a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities or social events that will capture the attention of friends, family, even communities.
Whatever you choose to do please make sure all the participants are safe at all times.
Take a look at our special fundraising area of the website.
Full story...
More info: How you can help

Older people will be forced to turn down their heating this winter if they cannot meet their fuel costs

Fuel poverty doubles in five years

The number of households who are in "fuel poverty" has more than doubled in the last five years because of surging energy bills, according to official statistics.
From an article by Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor of The Daily Telegraph - 14 Oct 2010

With the average British fuel bill climbing to well over one thousand pounds a year, for many pensioners the largest bill they have to pay all year, a worryingly large number of people are struggling to keep their homes warm.
A household is defined as being fuel poor if it has to spend 10 per cent or more of its income on paying to keep the home adequately warm.
In 2003 the number of households hit a low of two million, but it climbed to four million in 2007 and then 4.5 million in 2008, the figures for which were published this month by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
This figure suggests that one in six households were fuel poor during 2008, a year which saw energy bills shoot up by 45 per cent.
DECC pointed out that since then the figure was likely to have fallen to 4.1 million, thanks to energy companies trimming their bills. However, this is still twice the level it was in 2003.

... many older people really are desperately poor - due to Britain having the most meagre State pension in Western Europe and some of the meanest means tests to punish those with modest savings ...

Exerpt from an article by Ian Cowie, personal finance editor of The Daily Telegraph March 2nd, 2010

Spreading the message, ideas or fundraising - can you help?
Ever conscious that it is our responsibility to keep operating costs as low as possible (AFTAID have no staff for instance) we still have to bring our work to the attention of the wonderful British public who have supported us.
If anyone can offer some voluntary help in any capacity, please contact us to tell of the skills or ideas you have to offer. We will be most grateful but more importantly those we are able to help will be grateful.

More info: How You Can Helpo: Case Studies

'FORGET THEM NOT'
When our founder, the late Brian St. Clair Burke, realised in 1982 that there was a surprisingly large number of elderly people in desperate need and that they were falling through the "safety net" of Social Services, he decided to do whatever he could to help.
He had no idea that more than 25 years later applications to the charity he started would have increased to the level we currently receive...
Full story...
More info: How we help

Do you want to know about grants?
A number of individuals do write directly to us for help. But more elderly people in need 'make do', often being too proud to ask for help. Consequently most of the grants we make come as a result of an approach from other Charities, Social Services or Support Groups none of which are able to help as we can and do.
We can only make grant aid available to UK residents who are of pension age and on low incomes. The process of applying is made as easy as we can.
Full story...
More info: How we help
More info: Apply for grant
More info: Useful Links

For those who need a different kind of help...
AFTAID strives to do all we can for those in very difficult circumstances but there are some aspects in your quality of life issues that we cannot help with. Thankfully we can bring those who would like a little occasional company or who do not have television but would enjoy one, a little good news.
Go to our new USEFUL LINKS page, where you will find quick access to several other charitable organisations who may be able to help you or your friends and neighbours.

More info: Link to other aid organisations