Community

Citizens Advice Cornwall

Citizens Advice Cornwall has launched a fundraising initiative to help more people manage their money better, take control of debt and become financially resilient.

The charity is looking to expand its series of roadshows and workshops to schools, colleges and youth groups to introduce strong budgeting skills at an early age. As part of the campaign, Citizens Advice Cornwall has been selected by insurance giant AVIVA for potential match funding which will see them match any money raised during the campaign.

To donate please visit: https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/p/helping-with-debt-and-financial-resilience

The charity has also be selected as a semi-finalist in the problem solving category of the Marsh Commercial for the People Awards. You can nominate Citizens Advice Cornwall to win £5,000 by voting online: https://www.marshcommercial.co.uk/campaigns/for-the-people-awards-2022/problem-solving/gill-pipkin

With the cost of living and energy crises and one-in-four households across Cornwall expected to be unable to pay their energy bills this winter, more people are in danger of falling into debt.

Citizens Advice Cornwall has developed a successful programme that works with individuals and small groups to help them understand priority and non-priority debts, how to manage on limited income and tips for reducing expenditure.

Citizens Advice Cornwall Community Fundraising Manager, Tamsin Chapman-Gunner, says:

“We want to roll this out to young people to give them the skills and confidence as they transition to independent living, but to do this we need the support of businesses and the general public to raise the funds needed. Please support us by making a donation via AVIVA or if you are unable to do that please vote for us with Marsh Commercial.”

Citizens Advice Cornwall Chief Executive, Gill Pipkin, added:

“As demand for our service grows, we want to help prevent people getting into difficulties. Your donation or your vote will help our team reach those most at risk and given them the skills and confidence to live independent lives enjoying good health and wellbeing.”

Last year the charity helped over 9,000 people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and this is expected to increase this year.
Citizens Advice Cornwall provides free, independent and confidential advice on a wide range of subjects for everyone in the community, including benefits, debt, housing, relationship issues, employment and redundancy, consumer, legal issues and more.

It costs Citizens Advice Cornwall around £1.5m to run the service each year, a figure that is set to rise as the need for help increases.

Members of the public can help support the charity by making a financial donation – no matter how big or small, or helping with fundraising.

• £10 could buy a headset for an advisor
• £25 could pay for an hour’s advice appointment
• £50 could help fund a one-to-one training session on managing bills
• £150 could pay for our phone system for a month
• £600 could pay for a laptop for one of our team
• £1,000 could pay for our text service for a year
• £3,000 could pay for full training for a specialist advisor.

To find out more about fundraising please visit the Citizens Advice Cornwall website.

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