Red Cross Commission announces winter grants to help households with children under five

The Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Commission has confirmed a new winter assistance grant to help Christchurch households with children under the age of five get back on their feet following the September or February earthquakes. The new grant will provide an electricity heating subsidy for significantly damaged households with children under five years.

Sir John Hansen, Chair of the Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Commission says the Commission sees helping the vulnerable keep warm in Christchurch this winter as a top priority, primarily due to concerns over health and well-being. Last week it announced its support for the elderly, today it has extended that to the very young.

“We are continuing to look closely at existing support to meet winter electricity and heating costs and it’s clear from our discussions that the elderly and very young from homes with earthquake damage are particularly vulnerable to health related issues and need assistance urgently,” he said. The grant will assist households with their electricity bills over the months of June, July, August and September. For every approved applicant the Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal will contribute $100 each month for up to four months directly to the electricity retailers.

The form and criteria for the Winter Assistance Grant for the under 5’s will be available today, Wednesday 8 June, and the grant will close on 6 July 2011. Over $65 million dollars has been raised to date in the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal with over $48 million in grants already disbursed to over 55,000 affected Christchurch residents.

For more information on the new grants go to www.redcrosseqgrants.org.nz

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