Words by Smiley Team
Martin Lewis has come to the aid of a charity at ‘breaking point’ by making a personal donation of £50,000.
Leeds-based charity Money Buddies offer free, confidential and impartial financial advice to vulnerable people.
On 17 March, a person at the charity replied to a tweet made by consumer advice expert Martin about the rising energy costs, saying that they were struggling to manage their growing waiting list of people needing help.
Martin Lewis asked the charity whether a £50k donation would help to "get things in place to relieve pressure" and said that the money was ready to go.
"I was so pleased when he sent the tweet, I was ecstatic. It just couldn't have come at a better time," said Sylvia Simpson who runs Money Buddies, when speaking to ITV.
"Things have never been so bad. The demand for our services is the worst I've ever seen and it's not going to get any better. We have a really long waiting list of people who are desperate for our help."
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Sylvia confirmed that the charity’s running costs are around £700,000 a year and every donation helps to sustain their advice services. Their current waiting list is several weeks long and demand has doubled in the last year, with many people worried about the rising cost of living.
Ahead of utility bills going up in April, charities like Money Buddies are trying to help and ease the concerns of residents across West Yorkshire at the charity’s 24 sites.
Sylvia praised Martin Lewis for his generous donation which she said would make all the difference at this time.
"The extra money means that we can increase our staff hours, which means we can meet the growing demands on services," she said.
Martin Lewis is known as the Money Saving Expert and host’s ITV's Martin Lewis Money Show, offering financial advice to people across the UK.
“You're the ones doing the work. Just glad we can get more people through the doors :)," replied Martin when the charity thanked him again for his donation on Twitter.
Money Buddies has been running for 26 years and can help people with debt, form filling, budgeting, writing letters to creditors, entitlement checks and general money worries.
The team at Money Buddies have won an IMA award for financial capability in 2014 and In 2017 were awarded The Centre for Social Justice – Debt award.
SUPPORT: You can join Martin Lewis as a donator to Money Buddies here.
DONATE: Food banks across the UK are seeing a higher demand for food essentials. To find your local food bank and drop off some basics, visit Trussell Trust.
