When I joined the foundation some six months ago, the chance to be the organisations ambassador for UN SDG 1: No Poverty, was a no brainer.
When we think of poverty, we tend to lean towards the image and of hunger and famine. Sadly, poverty is a broad and sweeping brush, influencing communities around the world in many devastating ways. As well as traditional food poverty, we have seen unprecedented rises in Northamptonshire for those who are struggling on several fronts. The well-publicised cost of living crisis has poured light onto energy poverty, with household potentially looking at bills north of £3000, the pandemic highlighted digital poverty and the consequences this can have on people’s ability to carry out what were seen as simple tasks, such as a doctor’s appointment, ordering some shopping and the frightening consequences digital poverty can have on a child’s education.
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
As a foundation we have been delighted to see elements of the community pulling together to tackle poverty in the county. The McCarthy-Dixon Foundation was founded by tenacious land lady Theresa McCarthy-Dixon, during the pandemic. Opening a food bank out of a pub in the local community, we have been delighted to work with them as they have grown and have looked address other issues such as social isolation with their food parcel delivery service and affordable days out to the seaside.
Bambino-Mio, is a local organisation we are delighted to work with in managing their fund for the local community. We were delighted to receive a donation from them of laptop computers, which we were able to pass on to help those who face the realities of digital poverty, a lack of education is a sure route into poverty, by distributing these surplus devices they were able to help secure the education of children around the county.
In recent months we have been delighted to work with both West and North Northamptonshire councils, by project managing the distribution of emergency funding in the form of the Household Support Fund, an effort which saw 30 organisations pull together and deliver nearly 13,000 supermarket vouchers to those in desperate need across the county.
Finally, I want to look forward to the #PovertyHurts appeal as we near our target of £40,000. This fund will tackle the cost-of-living crisis head on in Northamptonshire. The fund will help to ease the choice between heating and eating for some, and to articulate this I will turn to the words of our endlessly passionate CEO Rachel McGrath:
"Nobody should be struggling to cover their basic needs or making a choice between heating and eating. We know through feedback from local community groups and charities that many residents are going through really tough times especially those that have already been struggling with financial hardship. We supported our local communities through our Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund appeal during the pandemic and we will continue to do what we can through the current cost of living emergency to ensure help is provided to those who need it most."
You can donate to our #PovertyHurts appeal by clicking here, and help us to tackle poverty head on in Northamptonshire.
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