Hungerford's Circle of Strength

Fund launched to help town's poor

A NEW charitable initiative aimed at relieving poverty and hardship in the local community is up and running.

Circle of Strength is the creation of Hungerford entrepreneur Åsa Burke and is entirely funded by donations from the public.

The purpose of the initiative is to raise and distribute funds to local residents who are facing financial hardship, in order to make their everyday situation easier to handle.

The “pop-up charity” launched in May and has already reached its initial target of raising £1,000 to distribute to worthy applicants.

Ms Burke, who is managing director of marketing and copywriting agency Avancera, said: “I saw, time and again, a real willingness among the people of this town to pull together and to help others when needed.

“But there’s also a stigma to poverty and it can be embarrassing to ask for financial help.

“It’s disheartening to see how easy it can be to fall into financial struggles, and how many people are dealing with it right here on our doorstep in Berkshire.

“I’ve been in that position myself and it means a lot to know there are people out there who care. Sometimes just a modest amount can make a huge difference. It’s all about building a kinder community.”

Ms Burke recruited two other local women with experience of charities, Karen Meate and Sylvi Giuliani, to become trustees.

The project is now in a position to help its first applications which will be assessed by the fund’s trustees.

The grants will be frequent but moderate in size, at a maximum of £200 each.

Recipients, who are anonymous, are encouraged to share their story and explain how the funds are being used on Circle of Strength’s Facebook page.

Ms Burke said: “This is not a registered charity at present because we wanted to get it up and running quickly and see if it was viable.

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“So we want this to be a completely transparent project.

“Our supporters want to know how their funds are being used, and applicants want to feel that they are not alone in their struggles.

“Individuals will be kept anonymous, but the social media aspect just makes it that much easier to share everything we do.”

She added: “Registering such an initiative as a charity is time consuming and costly but if this really takes off, we’ll look into it.

“Meanwhile we look on it as a kind of ‘pop up charity’.”

Residents of Hungerford and surrounding villages are eligible to apply for a grant and can do so online using the application page www.circleofstrength.instapage.com

To become involved or for more general information visit www.facebook.com/CircleOfStrength