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Margaret Darling held a tea party yesterday (Thursday 7 May) at 11 Downing Street for anti-poverty charity, Elizabeth Finn Care, which has seen the number of people applying to them for grants rise by 250% in the past year.

 

The event was attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Louise Hyams, celebrity supporters, including Lionel Blair, as well as staff and beneficiaries of the charity. 

 

The event forms the highlight of Elizabeth Finn Care’s Big Tea Cosy fundraising week, which runs from the 4-10 May and encourages people to organise tea parties for the charity, which helps people from over 120 different professions, who have fallen on hard times. 

 

Since Elizabeth Finn Care’s inception in 1897, the charity has given approximately £130,000,000 (in real terms) to those experiencing financial hardship, but this year’s Big Tea Cosy is their largest fundraising event to date, as they seek to deal with the unprecedented level of need during the recession.

 

Leaders of all the main political parties, conscious that the grants provided by Elizabeth Finn Care are more vital than ever, have backed the Big Tea Cosy. 

 

Prime Minister, Gordon Brown says: ‘Elizabeth Finn Care plays a vital role in improving the lives of people the length and breadth of Britain, helping out with money and support when it is needed the most.”

 

Richard Down, Chairman of the Elizabeth Finn Care Board of Trustees commented on the day: “Elizabeth Finn Care was born in a recession – albeit a very different one to that which we find ourselves in today. Our commitment to helping those in financial difficulty, however, has never wavered.”

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

·         Elizabeth Finn Care is one of the UK’s leading direct grant-giving charities, dedicated specifically to helping people in poverty. In the past five years, Elizabeth Finn Care has given £13 million in direct grants to beneficiaries from over 120 occupations and professions.

·        Financial grants vary from one-off payments of up to £2,000 to help deal with major costs like household repairs, to longer term support of up to £20 per week, to cover daily essentials. A team of case workers and 500 volunteers across the country also provide emotional support helping to rebuild esteem, restore hope and help individuals to feel part of society again.