Winter Emergency Appeal

This winter, cold and hunger don't wait, and neither can we.

In the UK, we're funding hot meals, blankets and toiletries for people facing homelessness and hardship this winter. In Bangladesh, we're delivering blankets and food packs to families facing a cold wave with nothing to keep it out. Same emergency, two countries, one appeal.

Donate nowSee the need
photo: blanket distribution
The need, in both countries

Two winters, two crises

The emergency looks different in each place, but the underlying need is the same: people without the means to stay warm, fed and clean through the coldest months.

United Kingdom

A record homelessness crisis

  • Rough sleeping in England hit a record high of 4,793 people on a single night in autumn 2025, up 171% since 2010.
  • 134,210 households were in temporary accommodation on 31 December 2025, the highest level ever recorded.
  • Trussell food banks provided 2.6 million emergency parcels in 2025, one every 12 seconds, with families with children receiving 62% of them.
What we fund

Hot meals, blankets, and toiletries, delivered through local partners working directly with people sleeping rough or facing hardship this winter.

Bangladesh

A cold wave with nowhere to hide from it

  • Between November 2025 and February 2026, 176,120 cases of cold-related respiratory illness and water-borne disease were reported nationwide, resulting in 72 deaths.
  • An average of around 104 people die every year in Bangladesh from cold and winter-related illness, concentrated in the poorest regions, where warm clothing is scarcest.
  • Bangladesh's usually mild winters mean most low-income households own no blankets or winter clothing at all.
What we fund

Blankets and food packs, distributed directly to the families most exposed to the cold, children, the elderly, and those already living without adequate shelter.

Donate to the Winter Appeal