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A group of MPs are pleading for a dedicated emergency fund to help charities survive as they face financial ruin during the coronavirus pandemic.
The cross-party group – which includes Ashford MP Damian Green and Chatham and Aylesford's Tracey Crouch – has sent a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Calling for an immediate bailout, the MPs say their letter is in response to "mounting alarm at the desperate plight of small charities".
In the past week, two Kent charities – Age UK in Medway and ellenor hospice in Gravesend – have launched desperate fundraising efforts to raise a combined £1.6m to see them through the next three months.
Age UK Medway says it could be forced to close within months if it does not raise £500,000.
Meanwhile, ellenor which provides palliative care for patients says it is facing a £1.1m funding gap due to fundraising events being cancelled.
Both charities have also been forced to close their shops which contribute a major part of their income.
The MPs are urging Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to set up a fund to support charities like these and the many other community groups stepping into the breach by delivering food and medicine to the most vulnerable in our towns and villages.
It is feared many organisations will be "forced to go to the wall" as they struggle to raise the funds vital to their work.
The 26 MPs, led by former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former Labour deputy leader Dame Margaret Beckett, say the government must establish the "emergency hardship fund to help this silent army of lifesavers".
Ashford MP Damian Green said: "The charity sector is more important than ever at this difficult time for everyone, and I want to the government to recognise that in a practical way.
"In Ashford the voluntary sector is well organised, and well supported by the local council, but new groups have sprung up to collect prescriptions and do shopping for the vulnerable, and I would love to be able to harness this outpouring of goodwill on a permanent basis.”
Ms Crouch added: "My signature is both as the former minister for charities but also as someone who is aware of the financial challenges of local charities including the Heart of Kent Hospice, which is also why I am personally supporting the Kent Community Hardship Fund which helps supports charities supporting others."
The letter was sent before the Prime Minister was admitted to hospital last night for further tests after contracting Covid-19.
It reads: "We have seen first-hand their significance in the fight against coronavirus. They provide the infrastructure of voluntary effort to support the most vulnerable, facing greater hardship than ever at this time.
"Isolated households, those with mental health problems, people experiencing domestic violence, child abuse, loneliness and the extra stress of family dysfunction.
"The charity sector is more important than ever at this difficult time for everyone, and I want to the government to recognise that"
"They are delivering medicines and food to the most vulnerable and in the case of adult and children’s hospices, they are also taking the pressure off our hard-pressed NHS and social care sectors or stemming the flow of people who would otherwise need more intense medical care in hospitals and much, much more.
"Not all charities are the same.
"Whilst there are some who may be better able to weather the storm financially, or change their operating models – many, particularly community charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises operate hand to mouth.
"It is a situation made worse by the disappearance at this time of so much funding from direct income, fundraising events, charitable trusts and personal financial support. This has hit them very hard.
"We therefore feel it’s right now, to make this simple plea to step in and do what you can to help this silent army of life savers.”
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