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Charities are appealing for support during the coronavirus outbreak so they can continue to help people once the crisis is over.
Holding On Letting Go, a children's bereavement charity based in Rochester, is anticipating an increase in referrals for its service during this time.
Many of the events the charity would usually run or take part in have been cancelled or postponed which has led them to look at other ways to ensure they still have money coming in.
Despite this, the charity – which was selected by Mayor of Medway Cllr Habib Tejan as his charity of the year for his time in office – is continuing to provide support for those who need it.
Chief executive Caroline Ford said: “We are expecting an increase in referrals from families across Kent who need our help to support children through bereavement if they are affected by Covid-19.
“If someone in the family dies or is about to die, we are here to help to support the children through the bereavement.
“Obviously with Covid-19, some families are facing sudden deaths of their loved ones and we are here to help them to support their children through grief, whilst they themselves are grieving too.
“With all fundraising events cancelled, it has left a dent in our income which we are looking to recoup where we can and armchair fundraising is the perfect place to start."
The charity has signed up to two schemes called Give As You Live and Amazon Smile which allows users to donate a percentage of their online shopping bill to the charity.
Caroline added: "Now is the time for us to really push this quick and simple fundraising to help us to bring in more almost effortless donations, but also to build them up in the future.
"Holiday season and Christmas are particularly good times for us to benefit through online shopping, so people signing up now will continue to help us.”
To find out more about Holding On Letting Go, visit their website.
Meanwhile, a grant-giving organisation is urging people to support smaller causes across the county which may not survive the crisis due to shortage of funds.
The head of Kent Community Foundation (KCF), which provides grants and financial support for charities and deserving causes, says she's extremely worried about the charitable sector.
Josephine McCartney, the Foundation's chief executive, said: “Although none of us can truly predict the future of the charitable sector, I am very concerned about how the charitable landscape will look when we come out of the other side of this pandemic.
"KCF is at the frontline of charitable giving in Kent and Medway and we have already been inundated with requests for support from small and medium sized charities who are facing collapse.”
The organisation has established emergency loans of up to £60,000 to help support charities during this time and launched the KCF Coronavirus Emergency Fund which has so far raised £600,000.
To find out more, go to their website.
On Monday, Kent MPs Damian Green and Tracey Crouch signed a letter to the government calling for an emergency bailout fund to help charities facing major struggles to stay open.
Just last week, two large Kent charities – Age UK Medway and ellenor hospice in Gravesend – said they needed to raise more than £1.6m in the next three months just to stay in business.
