Wadworth helps keep elderly warm this winter

Independent family brewer Wadworth is using its special edition festive ale to help keep the elderly warm this winter.

The Devizes brewery is donating 10p from the sale of each pint of Winter’s Tail in its Wiltshire pubs to the Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Surviving Winter appeal, which is marking its tenth anniversary.

The Community Foundation works with Age UK Wiltshire and the Warm and Safe Wiltshire partnership to identify those most in need and gives them £300 towards their fuel bills.

Since the Community Foundation launched its Surviving Winter campaign in 2010 it has raised more than £500,000 and given grants to more than 1,500 households in Wiltshire and Swindon.

According to research by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in June 2019, there are more than 30,000 households in Wiltshire and Swindon living in fuel poverty, which means they cannot afford to heat their home properly through the coldest months of the year - almost one in ten homes in the county.

NHS statistics show that that up to 400 people in Wiltshire and Swindon die each year simply because they cannot afford to heat their homes. The majority of people who suffer premature winter-related deaths are over 65 and 75 per cent of these are due to the impact the cold has on respiratory and circulatory conditions.

Wadworth commercial director Jonathan Thomas which has more than 150 pubs, is pleased to support the appeal for the second year running with its winter ale sales.

“Our pubs are very much a part of the community in Wiltshire and we do our utmost to support it whenever we can. Surviving Winter, which addresses a real need, is such a worthy cause and we are very pleased to back it,” he said. “The people it helps could be our customers, or our customers’ relatives, so for us this is giving something back.

“Winter’s Tail is our special edition beer for winter and Christmas, and we know it is going to be very popular so what better way to support Surviving Winter than by donating money from its sales?”

Wiltshire Community Foundation chief executive Rosemary Macdonald said: “Wadworth has been a tremendous supporter of our work for many years and we are so grateful that it is continuing to give so much to the community.

“We rely on wonderful companies like Wadworth, who care so much about the county, and this money will make a huge difference to the people we help. To have raised more than £500,000 in ten years is phenomenal and I thank all of our supporters and partners for making a real difference to some very vulnerable people.”

The beer is now on sale in Wadworth pubs and will be available until December 31. More details at wadworth.co.uk.

To donate to the Surviving Winter appeal, go to wiltshirecf.org.uk/SurvivingWinter2019

Pictured: Wadworth Commercial Director Jonathan Thomas with Wiltshire Community Foundation office manager Maggie Watson, left, and grants administrator Karen Pugh sampling Winter’s Tail at The Crown in Devizes, where it is now on sale

EDITOR’S NOTE:

For more information call Gary Lawrence on 01380729284 or 07866 422308 or email gary.lawrence@wiltshirecf.org.uk.