Pensioner’s sweetie thankyou

PENSIONERS, the disabled and their families have been saying thank you to Shetland Charitable Trust as the annual £300 Christmas grant arrives on their doormat.

This week the trust has made more than 1,400 individual payments totalling £427,000 to eligible pensioners and disabled people.

Lerwick pensioner Jimmy Winchester shows his gratitude every year by coming to the trust’s North Road offices with a box of sweeties for the staff.

Jimmy said: “The money from the charitable trust is a magnificent gift to get every Christmas. It goes towards essential household items or I sometimes use it with my travel pass to pay for a holiday south.”

Phil and Jacqui Mortimer, from Yell, wrote to the trust this week saying “the trust will never know how this makes our life over the winter so much better.”

Some children with additional support needs also qualify for the grant, such as 11 year old Anthony Nisbet.

His mother Laina said: “The Christmas bonus is a very welcome bonus at this time of year and helps me kit Anthony out for the winter.”

Trust general manager Ann Black said: “We know how difficult this time of year can be for vulnerable people and it is very rewarding for us to get this kind of positive feedback.”

The grant to Shetland’s pensioners and disabled people is a one-off payment from the isles’ oil funds, held in the £200 million charitable trust.