Council distributing Warm in Winter Gift Bags

Council staff have packed more than 600 Warm in Winter Bags for volunteering days and will distribute 120 bags to vulnerable older people in Three Rivers who are struggling to keep warm this winter.

Local charity Small Acts of Kindness, with support from the council, will be providing bags that  contain practical items such as a fleece blanket, thermal hat and gloves, hot drinks, soup and porridge as well as an information pack providing help, support and opportunities to join local activities.

This winter, Small Acts of Kindness will be sourcing, packing and distributing 12,000 Warm in Winter gift bags across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire that will help to warm the person when they are struggling to heat their home.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Council Leader, said: “We have worked with Small Acts of Kindness to distribute Warm in Winter Bags for several years and we know how much they mean to a number of people receiving the bags and the impact these bags have in the community.

“This year we are happy to have been able to allocate some of our Household Support Fund grant towards this much needed project. This winter if you, or someone you know, are aged 55 and over and are struggling to keep warm at home, please visit the council or one of our Healthy Hubs to collect a bag.”

Staff at the council have also been helping pack Bags of Kindness which, at a time of heightened awareness of the cost of living, are also being given out to support local people. The gift bags include essential items and an information pack. The project began in response to the Covid pandemic, to give 3,000 gift bags to clinically vulnerable people throughout Hertfordshire and has continued as a valuable service for those in need.

For more information visit: https://www.smallactsofkindness.co.uk/our-projects. For information around cost of living support visit https://www.threerivers.gov.uk/services/community-and-living/cost-living-support

Warm in winter gift bags can be collected from:

• Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth, WD3 1RL- Monday - Friday between 9am and 4pm
• Oxhey Library, Bridlington Road, South Oxhey, WD19 7AG - Every Thursday between 9.30am and 5pm
• Methodist Church, Berry Lane, Rickmansworth, WD3 7HJ - Every Tuesday between 12 - 2pm

· The Old Stables (behind St Lawrence Church), St Lawrence's Vicarage, High Street, Abbots Langley, WD5 0AS- Every Wednesday between 9am and 5pm.

PHOTO CAPTION: Healthy Hub officers with Cllr Raj Khiroya, Chair of Three Rivers District, and Council Leader Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst holding Warm in Winter bags at Three Rivers House.