Thames Water has recently approved £500,000 of funding for its Trust Fund initiative. The Thames Water Trust Fund is an independent grant making trust which aims to help Thames Water customers who find themselves in a difficult financial circumstance. It also offers grants to local organisations that provide support to Thames Water customers who are in hardship by providing debt and money advice services.
As part of this funding, Trustees have awarded a total of £400,000 in grants to organisations such as Citizens Advice North Oxfordshire, East End CAB (Hackney and Tower Hamlets), Citizens Advice Hounslow, Islington’s People’s Rights and Agnes Smith Advice Centre in Oxford to provide support for projects over the next two years.
In addition, Thames Water employees can refer customers to the Trust Fund which provides grants for essential household goods, to those whose long-term circumstances suggest they will not be able to afford these items themselves.
In a recent case, Thames Water customer representative, Rob Hanks, conducted a home visit to a customer needing extra help in Swindon. After he noticed they were in need of a new fridge freezer he made a referral to the Thames Water Trust Fund, where a new fridge was delivered to a customer within weeks.
Rob Hanks, Customer Representative for Thames Water said:
“As a customer representative, my role is to support and advocate for customers as much as I can. I’m so pleased a new round of funding has been awarded to the Trust Fund which gives us the opportunity to make a difference to those customers in their everyday life.”
Managed by Auriga Services, in the 2022/23 year, the Thames Water Trust Fund helped over 4,000 deserving customers and Thames Water say they are hoping to improve on this number with the new round of £500,000 funding.
Linda Perham, Chair of the Thames Water Trust Fund said:
“The Thames Water Trust Fund Trustees are delighted and extremely grateful that Thames Water is reaffirming its long-standing commitment to supporting our vital work in helping its most vulnerable customers especially in these difficult and challenging times.”
Nina White, Director of financial customer care at Thames Water said:
“The Thames Water Trust Fund is an initiative we are very proud of as part of our commitment to support customers who may be struggling. With the cost of living rising, we are also providing support for 53,000 additional households over the next financial year, increasing the total number of households receiving help to 384,000.”
Find out more about Thames Water’s financial support schemes.
