Warming hearts this winter
After Lynne Misner’s boiler broke one perishing winter, she spearheaded a new community project helping vulnerable people in her community stay warm
It was the bleak mid-winter of 2015 and the weather had turned bitterly cold when Lynne Misner discovered her boiler had finally packed in. “It was the first time in my life that I understood what it meant to be cold day in day out,” says Lynne. “Without even any hot water to warm me up, I found this deep, permeating cold really got inside of me and made me feel miserable.” As she battled to keep her body temperature and spirits up, she happened
to read in the papers about the fact many older people spent the winter feeling cold – often having to make the helpless choice between buying food or heating their home because of rising fuel costs or the perception that it was frivolous to heat a home all day. Lynne’s heart went out to these vulnerable people who were facing the wretched cold she felt, all the time “I’ve always done a lot of volunteering with older people and have seen the loneliness and isolation they can face, but to think they’d be so cold, like I was feeling that winter, was awful. I knew I wanted to help – even if it was just for a small group of people.” So Lynne came up with the idea of creating dedicated Warm in Winter packs to give out to local people who were struggling to stay warm. Having contacted local businesses and councillors asking for their support, she managed to raise an initial £2,000 in two weeks to buy blankets, thermal socks, hot drinks, soups, and gloves and hats from wholesalers and manufacturers to kit out these life-saving packs. Soon, with the help of friends and local volunteers, she had 800 winter gift bags packed up and ready to go. Local organisations and businesses such as Age UK and meals on wheels services then helped Lynne identify vulnerable members of the community who would benefit most from these packs and distributed them. While the immediate aim of the packs was to help keep people warm, it became clear this project could have further-reaching benefits, too. “As well as containing items to keep warm, we packed the gift bags with information that might help them in general, whether that’s about insulation grants people can apply for to make it cheaper to heat their home, or additional home help they could be entitled to or social activities nearby. Because it’s not just about being cold. We want to address why they’re cold, for example, if they are staying in all day because they’re not aware of social activities near them or are living in an old house that’s not very energy efficient,” says Lynne, who won an Age UK Spirit of Age award earlier this year for her project. Almost immediately the packs had a huge difference as the recipients started to send in heart-warming feedback saying they were so surprised that someone cared enough to give them this gift. Realising what comfort and support these packs were providing, Lynne decided to grow her project which became an organisation known as Small Acts of Kindness. So when the next winter came around, Lynne and a small team of volunteers managed to give out an astonishing 2,500 Warm in Winter bags distributed throughout Hertfordshire. She also launched a second scheme called Celebrate Christmas, creating gift bags for older people who are on their own in the run-up to Christmas containing an advent calendar, a Christmas card and five beautifully-wrapped gifts. Now, looking ahead to this upcoming winter, preparations are well underway for helping even more people. In fact Lynne, who does this work on an entirely voluntarily basis around a part-time job and looking after her own family, wants to distribute 3,000 Warm in Winter packs and 350 Celebrate Christmas gift bags this year. “This is the most enjoyable work I think I’ve ever done because it’s so rewarding to know that I am genuinely making a difference. If an older person is cold, the repercussions are huge – it raises their blood pressure and puts them at increased risk of a stroke, heart attack or a fall. But if we can prevent them from feeling cold there’s an argument that we’re helping keep people out of hospital and saving the NHS money. We’re also encouraging people to think if there’s an older person living nearby who might be cold and might appreciate you popping in to check they’re okay. It’s about bringing the community together. “Me and the volunteers who help me all work really long hours on this project and I’m often up until 2am filling in grant applications or organising things before I get up for my proper job at 6am, but it makes it all worth it to know we’re changing people’s lives.”