Elsdon Village Hall receives £7,309 for it to become a crisis hub to support its residents of Elsdon, Northumberland.
The Northern Powergrid Foundation has provided a grant to enable the village hall to become a crisis hub with the addition of a generator that can provide energy resilience to the residents of Elsdon. In the event of power interruptions the village hall will be able to provide residents with a place to warm up, eat hot food, wash with hot water and charge torches and phones. It will enable elderly and vulnerable villagers to congregate together to retain high spirits, rather than feel cold, isolated and scared. As well as the generator electric wiring was installed to allow a switch over to generator power in the event of power loss. The community now has a greater confidence that should a long term power outage occur in the future the hall will easily be able to support residents.
Carol Lewin, Assistant Treasurer of Elsdon Village Hall said: “We’re thrilled with the funding from The Foundation as the money will help our multi-purpose hall to support local residents during a prolonged power outage. Many of our residents are elderly and isolated and we can provide a safe and warm hub for them to visit, seek shelter, socialise with neighbours, keep warm and access hot drinks and food.”
In the picture L-R: Carol Lewins, Assistant Treasurer of Elsdon Village Hall, Billy Lewins, Louise Lowes, Northern Powergrid Foundation Trustee.
The challenges for Elsdon, Northumberland, residents
Due to the remote location and the possibility of further power interruptions impacting vulnerable customers at Elsdon the trustees of the Elsdon Village Hall identified a need to increase their resilience.
The solution for Elsdon, Northumberland, residents
The trustees of the Elsdon Village Hall identified that a generator was their best solution to allow the village hall to remain open for the local community to safely reside during times of power interruptions as electricity is their only power source.
Support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation
The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the community project with a £7,309 donation to go towards a generator.
More about the Northern Powergrid Foundation
The Northern Powergrid Foundation’s mission, complementing Northern Powergrid’s ambition to be a force for good in the communities it serves, is to support communities most affected by changes in the economy, environment, and society because of the shifting energy landscape. This will be achieved by supporting projects focused on helping to tackle energy resilience during emergency events, vulnerability, fuel poverty, levelling the rural divide, innovation, social support, and community collaboration. Funds are available to support the communities across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire served by Northern Powergrid.