Keeping people Warm in their Homes

The Rotary Club of Dennistoun

A partnership with the Energy Saving Trust for Scotland and the RSA Fellows Wellbeing Network

The club has agreed a working partnership with the two organisations above to promote wellbeing and energy saving to the wider membership of all Rotary Clubs in Scotland and to “cascade” this to wider society. The initial targets are our own members and their families who may be at risk of falling into energy poverty.

While food banks have become a modern phenomenon, other traditional providers such as the Salvation Army have also been providing support to help their users, heat and light their homes and cook food. Many of the most deprived and the elderly do not have direct access to the internet and cannot thus obtain vital information, the cost saving deals and grants, that most of us take for granted. Also many are bamboozled by the constant advertising and cold calling of suppliers and offers of loans, being easily trapped into increasing debt and cold homes.

Worse of all are the excess winter deaths estimated at over 20,000 this year across the UK, while deaths attributed directly to malnutrition and hypothermia are rare, they are considered as increasingly important contributory factors to these totals Underpinning this dual issue of food and energy inequality is the economic marginalization of many, their families and the need to access free and impartial advice. The Energy Saving Trust through its Home Energy Network provides this and much more including financial advice and referrals to other agencies. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland A unique and innovative organisation to Scotland.

To this end we have agreed to hold two open meetings, with light lunch and refreshments, the first in the Kings Park Hotel, Rutherglen for the South of Glasgow and adjacent authorities on the 31^st of March between 12:30 and 3:00pm. The second on the 27th May also between 12:30 and 3:00pm at the Strathblane Country House for the North and Central  Glasgow and adjacent authorities. We have asked the RSA through its Eventbrite account to advertise these at