Stronger together across Ringwood & Fordingbridge

Our community Hardship Fund

Founded by Empower in June 2022, STARF is a voluntary community group made up of local individuals and organisations, with a shared mission to tackle poverty and hardship in Ringwood and Fordingbridge schools. By choosing us to install your solar PV system, you’re directly supporting our hardship fund — providing essential assistance to those who need it most. At Empower, every donation we receive for our Hardship Fund is matched, doubling the impact of your contribution.

Check Out STARF

Together, with our customers' help, Empower has raised

£114,471

so far for families in need

Make a donation

STARF projects

Donations are locally distributed by STARF and include projects such as:

  • Financial donations to families in crisis through our local schools.
  • Financial hardship Support Workers who help families to review their financial circumstances and access help from the Government or other charities.
  • A team of Counsellors working in our local schools who help to heal young minds and reverse damaging behaviour patterns.
  • A Debt Coach to work with struggling families and enable them to become debt free.
  • A range of Educational Interventions which grow budgeting, healthy lifestyle skills, build on existing parenting skills and support lifelong and generational change.
  • An Under 1s Club to help new parents and carers enhance their parenting skills and build friendships.
Make a donation to STARF directly
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Seeing a mum cry when I gave her toy vouchers for her children and hearing her say that she had never had anybody do anything like this before, makes you realise that this is part of the role schools should be playing. Educating starts with caring.

— Anonymous

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On behalf of children and families across Ringwood and Fordingbridge, we are so grateful for the regular, generous gifts of money to us as a group of local schools. With this money we are able to support our most vulnerable families to afford to buy food and pay energy bills that they might have otherwise struggled to afford. Using this fund, we have also been able to provide Entertainer gift tokens for families so they can buy toys and gifts for their children this Christmas time.

— Hilary Silk

Head Teacher, Ringwood CE Infant School

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We are very grateful for the financial support which has enabled many families stay warm so far this winter. With your support we have managed to buy clothes for families, pay for gas and electricity as well as supply everyday items. As a headteacher, families and their wellbeing are always at the forefront of our minds and having some funding to help families has eased pressure on so many people at so many levels.

— Kim

Executive Head Teacher, Fordingbridge Infant and Junior Schools Federation

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