WE have teamed up with Wiltshire Community Foundation for its Put In A Pound appeal to help charities and voluntary groups cope with the fallout from the cost-of- living crisis.

We are asking readers to donate £1 to help the voluntary sector tackle the unprecedented demand from families and individuals struggling to make ends meet.

The foundation will be able to increase any donation by 50 per cent through match funding – up to the value of £25,000 – meaning each £1 donated becomes £1.50.

Money raised by the appeal will go into the foundation’s Cost-of-Living Crisis Fund, which was set up last year.

It has already distributed almost £23,000 to groups and charities providing food, mental health support, money advice, help with fuel bills or just offering somewhere warm for them to go.

HEALS of Malmesbury is supporting hundreds of families and individuals with debt and benefit claims advice, food and other community support and has seen a steady rise in people needing assistance.

Chairman of trustees Gavin Grant said: “People are being broken by this crisis. We have had conversations with people who say they are going to cut their electricity or their gas off to save money.

“People are just feeling beaten down by the systems. We are seeing people whose hours are become more irregular in employment, particularly in hospitality, and therefore seeing a disruption to Universal Credit.”

HEALS works with the town’s foodbank and has seen the number of vouchers it distributes rise by 75 per cent in a year. The group opened a community fridge in the town hall last year and have been staggered by the take-up.

“We just wanted to increase the volume of free food available in the town,” said Mr Grant.

“We started off with three collections a week from the local Co-ops, that has now expanded to ten a week as Aldi is now on board as well and we are talking to Waitrose.

“The more we put in there it seems to be the more that goes. We pretty much stock it every day and every day it is cleaned out.”

The community foundation’s joint chief executive Fiona Oliver said: “We are very thankful to the Journal for running this appeal.

"The money raised will help grass roots charities and groups like HEALS continue their vital support for their communities despite rising costs and the severe pressure they are under.”

How to donate

By credit or debit card by calling 01380 715453 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)

By post, with cheques made payable to Wiltshire Community Foundation, to Sandcliff House, 21 Northgate Street, Devizes, SN10 1JT

Online at bit.ly/putinapound