With rising energy costs affecting many charities across the Midlands, The Student Energy Group (TSEG) has stepped in to halve the energy bills of the homeless charity SIFA Fireside, which was facing the prospect of a 300% increase this year.
SIFA Fireside supports many at-risk and vulnerable people as they journey through the effects of homelessness in order to rebuild their lives. They do this through support and advice alongside signposting and ensuring that people have a warm and safe drop-in centre that they can go to seek shelter and food. “But everything that we do to support people comes at a cost,” said Natalie Allen, chief executive officer at SIFA Fireside.
“When we looked at renewing our energy services which were £15k last year we realised that the cost was going to be closer to £60k,” Natalie continues. “As a charity, every penny is invested in the people that we are here to support. The additional £45,000 that we needed to find to pay for these essential costs could have made a real impact on the centre and the services that we offer. Thankfully the team at TSEG stepped in and not only halved our bills but also made a generous donation of £8.5k to the charity.”
Simon Wheeler, chief operations officer for The Student Energy Group said: “SIFA Fireside does an amazing job and gives hope to those that need it the most. As a Birmingham-based business ourselves that offers a simple and effective energy bill splitting option for students, we have extensive knowledge and expertise in the energy sector and were only too happy to help find a solution for the organisation. We looked at how we could consolidate services and potentially reduce costs for the organisation and, as a result we’ve been able to halve what they were set to pay.
“TSEG is an energy company that wants to do the right thing. From planting a tree for every student customer that signs up to our bill splitting service through us to providing warm seating hubs and now a safe space in which to rebuild lives. What’s more, we also want to do the right thing around energy and the costs associated with it. When students sign up to use us they won’t find hidden charges or cancellation fees, just simple and honest energy.”