AS has been widely reported, the Coronavirus crisis has had a seriously damaging impact upon the incomes of charities, not least because of the widespread cancellation of fund-raising events ranging from the London Marathon down to more local village-based affairs.

Although the government has responded by its recent announcement of a financial package specifically for the charitable sector, the effect upon charities large and small will be severe in the short to medium term.

In the case of Age Concern Crediton, the closure of the Day Centre, into which older clients are transported on weekdays, the cessation of visits to the homes of clients by the Home Support team and the closure of Age Concern Crediton’s charity shop led to the immediate loss from March 18 of much of the charity’s income.

Despite that, the charity paid all staff their full wages for the month of March before placing a number of its part-time staff into the government’s “furlough” scheme, which should result in 80 per cent of their wages being covered in due course.

Having done that, the charity has continued its work by retaining a number of its paid staff to telephone all of its clients daily (or less frequently if they prefer) to ensure that they do not become isolated and so that they can talk to a familiar voice.

It has also extended its services to meet the current crisis by offering shopping and prescription collection services for older people in Crediton and the surrounding villages, including those with whom it has not had contact in the past.

These free services have been taken up not only by people living locally, but also by relatives living elsewhere in the country telephoning or emailing to ask for deliveries to be made to their relatives in this area.

The loss of much of its income has meant that the charity is paying the costs of what it is doing from its own resources.

This means not only staff costs, but also includes running costs and utility charges for its Day Centre and shop.

Hopefully, the refunding of the cost of the furlough scheme and other government support will eventually become available, but the timing is uncertain and so, in the meantime, the charity is having to cover that gap.

Fortunately, the charity received a generous donation last year from Jackson’s plc and also benefited significantly in 2019 from being one of the charities supported by the Crash Box Club, that stages the annual Powderham Castle vintage vehicle event.

These one-off proceeds were set aside for other projects, but are having to be used until, hopefully, the government’s funds kick in to meet some of the costs.

In the past, the charity has benefited from generous support from other local organisations. These include, among others, the Crediton Town Band, which donates the proceeds from its concerts, from the the Freemasons Unity Lodge and from the Rotary Club of Crediton Boniface.

All of this has been very gratefully received. But further potential funding from them is likely to be dependent to an extent upon the kinds of fund-raising activities that have had to be curtailed during the crisis.

Fortunately, to help bridge the funding gap, others have continued their support, for which Age Concern Crediton is very grateful. Crediton Town Council is a generous and consistent supporter of the charity’s work, as is Devon County Council.

And, as usual, Councillor Nick Way has been proactive in seeking funding to assist. The charity has also received donations from the local branches of Morrisons plc and Tesco plc, both of which are regular supporters.

Faced by the sudden shortfall in its funding, Age Concern Crediton has been  particularly indebted to the trustees of two local charitable institutions for making immediate generous donations which have helped enormously.

These are the the trustees of the Kelly Trust and those of the Crediton United Charities. Through their support, it has been possible to continue the charity’s work with the older members of the community in this unprecedented crisis.

The gap in funding has had a detrimental effect upon all charities, ranging from large national ones to free-standing local ones like Age Concern Crediton.

In some cases, the charities will not survive as, even if the promised money eventually becomes available, it will be too late.

Age Concern Crediton is strong enough to survive and will, but any and all funding it receives in the meantime will help it to bridge that gap and will be very gratefully received.

Age Concern Crediton can be contacted on 01363 775008 or email: [email protected] .

Michael Coleman

Chairman of Trustees

Age Concern Crediton