A Perth salon owner has launched a fundraising campaign to help ensure families stay warm this Christmas.
Emma Newlands (30), of award-winning Tranquility Beauty, hopes to team up with Fair City community groups and use kind donations from the public to help struggling households pay for their heating over the festive period.
Having launched the GoFundMe page just six days ago, she has already reached her fundraising target of £2000 after asking for donations big or small.
“Even if it’s £1, this can truly help these families,” the fundraising page noted.
The idea is to distribute the funds on Christmas Eve, which will be put directly onto energy key cards or a voucher to be used at a post office or paypoint.
Along with support from the council’s Anti Poverty Task Force, Emma says she has been in contact with Giraffe, Perth Gift Card, Letham4All and Perth and Kinross Food Bank to see if they can aid her cause.
Emma hopes the community groups in and around the city can help determine which families are most in need of aid and what is the best way to distribute the funding.
She said: “I have a friend in Liverpool who set one up and so I thought it would be good to do it locally.
“Places in Edinburgh and Glasgow are doing the same.
“It has been freezing here and people are really struggling so we can raise some funds to support people and their families.
“We were aiming for £1000 at first and we raised that amount quite quickly. It has been so good to see.”
Emma was looking to link up with community groups during the week to co-ordinate her campaign set to culminate on December 24.
“We would do it on Christmas Eve,” she said.
“The community groups will help distribute the funds and help decide which families are most in need. It would be through a gift card or an e-voucher and some other people will be there to help out.”
Emma also said a huge “thank you” to everyone who has donated to the fundraiser so far.
To donate go to the GoFundMe page at the following link: https://gofund.me/aedb4231
