When a woman she never expected to need it turned to Aberfeldy foodbank for help it came as a shock to Judy Ewer.
That revelation inspired a whip round of churches in Aberfeldy and neighbouring villages to help people who had fallen on hard times during the pandemic.
And now that act of giving has grown into a charity which has distributed tens of thousands of pounds to people in need and crisis.
Upper Tay Anti-Poverty Support Group was there for Ballinluig people whose homes were flooded by Storm Gerrit in December.
It provides PE kits for schoolchildren who would otherwise be without.
And it has bought laptops for Ukrainian people who have moved to the area, uprooted from their wartorn homeland.
These are just a few examples of how the charity has responded since it was constituted in June 2022.
Recalling how it came about, Judy, a member of Aberfeldy Parish Church, said: “During Covid Aberfeldy started a food larder.
“One weekend my husband, Adrian, was there helping and he came back and said X was at the larder.
“Later that day the minister came to our house and I said ‘you won’t believe it but X was at the larder’.
“He said, ‘don’t you mean Y?’ and I said ‘no, I mean X’ and I told him my husband and I had been talking and we felt there was clearly a need for a hardship fund.”
So an appeal for donations went out to members of the Aberfeldy, Dull and Weem, Grandtully, Logierait and Strathtay churches led by the Rev. Neil Glover.
Judy, 68, said: “People assume as they drive around Aberfeldy that there isn’t poverty, but there are pockets of poverty.”
And she said many people suddenly found themselves in dire straits when Covid struck, highlighting the need which continues for help for those in similar situations.
She said: “Aberfeldy is a tourist hotspot. Take away the tourism and you take away the income.
“We instantly recognised there was a need and then had to decide what we were going to do to address that need.”
‘It’s much bigger than one person’
Having grown beyond the churches into a community cause, Upper Tay Anti-Poverty Support Group is led by Judy, a grandmother who describes herself as a career volunteer,
She is also coordinator of Aberfeldy Community First Responders Group and a member of several other local organisations including Dementia Friendly Aberfeldy.
But she stresses: “It’s much bigger than one person, it’s a team effort.”
A working group of around 20 volunteers which she calls the worker bees and six trustees ensure that Upper-Tay Anti-Poverty Group is ready to respond to referrals.
She said: “We address an immediate unforeseen need.
“We’re not there to pay the rent and we don’t help people to get benefits, although we can direct them to people who can.
“Our role is to give that immediate short, sharp relief.
“For example, if someone has an accident and suddenly they have no income. They’ve applied for benefits but there’s this gap as they wait for them to come through.
“Or the folk in Ballinluig who were flooded out of their homes.
“Although we couldn’t replace what was lost we were able to give them moral support in the form of a donation.”
Food vouchers for families in need and support for the Warm Welcome Cafe has been given.
There’s also been help for Breadalbane Academy’s breakfast and uniform schemes.
Anna Glover, principal teacher of support, said the Aberfeldy school is extremely grateful for the group’s intervention.
She said: “They have basically helped us to enable pupils to attend school, by providing essential items such as school uniform that some families cannot afford.
“For instance, pupils can help themselves to clothes for PE out of a PE locker we have at school.
“There are no questions asked and pupils do not have to suffer the stigma of not having the appropriate school uniform.”
Grants have come from organisations including The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, Perth and Kinross Council, the Church of Scotland, the Basil Death Trust, Corra Foundation and SSE Griffin.
The charity also receives a lot of personal donations and the £2300 for the Ballinluig flood victims was the result of a bring and buy sale.
Nela Popovic, The Enchanted Forest Community Trust executive director, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to support the Upper Tay Anti-Poverty Support Group with finance which has really been making a difference to those most in need in the Highland Perthshire area.”
Applications to the The Enchanted Forest Community Trust’s 2024 community fund can be made until March 31.
Conversation