Bold fundraiser aims to boost breast cancer support and celebrate local female entrepreneurs

HAVERFORDWEST Business Women have launched their 2026 charity calendar, with 100% of profits from every sale being donated to breast cancer charities.

The calendar, revealed this week, features a striking and humorous design promoting body positivity while celebrating the women who run and shape businesses across the town. Organisers say the project has a two-fold purpose: to raise vital funds for breast cancer research and to highlight the diverse and growing range of female-led enterprises operating in Haverfordwest.

Each purchase will help fund life-saving research and provide essential support to those affected by breast cancer — a cause many within the group say is deeply personal to them.

A spokesperson for Haverfordwest Business Women said: “A huge thank you to all the fantastic ladies brave enough to ‘bare all’ for such an important charity. This project shows the strength, humour and solidarity of the incredible women involved.”

Calendars are available now from Victoria Book Shop and other local stockists in Haverfordwest, with all profits going directly to breast cancer charities.

Working families among those turning to charity for emergency help

ALMOST four hundred families across Wales — more than 1,300 parents, children and young people — turned to Action for Children for crisis support over a 16-month period to 1 October, as the cost-of-living crisis continues to intensify in the run-up to Christmas.

New data from the charity shows that three in ten applications (31%) for emergency grants came from households where at least one parent is in work, while one in seven families (15%) seeking help were not claiming any means-tested benefits. Frontline support workers say that beyond these one-off grants many families “have nowhere else to turn”.

Across the UK, Action for Children is currently receiving around 300 applications a month for financial help. Three-quarters of frontline staff surveyed said the families they support are facing greater financial pressure than this time last year.

Action for Children, which runs hundreds of services across the UK, analysed data from its Family Fund — delivered in partnership with Nationwide — as part of its annual Secret Santa campaign. The fund provides crisis grants for essentials such as food, appliances, clothing and basic household items.

Between June 2024 and September 2025, nearly £85,000 was distributed to families in Wales alone.

What Welsh families needed most

The charity reports that four essential categories accounted for three-quarters of all crisis spending:

• Food (33%)
• Household appliances (16%)
• Home furnishings and repairs (15%)
• Clothing (12%)

Other key findings include:

• 47% of applications came from families receiving Universal Credit.
• 61% were from families with one or two children.
• 49% were from single-parent households.

Support workers described families unable to replace broken beds, parents going without showers to save electricity, and minimum-wage workers unable to afford carpets or basic furniture despite working full-time hours.

One worker said: “A 9-year-old was sleeping in a toddler bed because the family simply couldn’t afford a replacement. They were already falling behind on bills.”

Another reported helping a young single mother: “She had no carpets, barely any furniture, and a sofa she’d been given that was full of fleas. Her wages covered her bills but nothing more. She didn’t qualify for additional support.”

Mental health impact

The charity’s data shows the emotional toll is severe.

• 74% of Welsh applications recorded anxiety, stress or other mental health concerns linked to financial hardship.
• 29% noted that children’s mental health was directly affected by money worries at home.

One support worker said children were avoiding socialising: “They don’t ask to go out because they don’t want parents to feel bad when they can’t give them pocket money.”

Charity calls for urgent action

Laurie Ryall, Action for Children’s National Director in Wales, said: “Our Family Fund data lays bare the devastating impact financial hardship is having on vulnerable families — and that doesn’t stop because it’s Christmas. Staff are helping families every day who try their hardest yet still can’t afford to heat their homes or put food on the table. It is heartbreaking to see the toll on parents and children alike.”

She welcomed the UK Government’s child poverty strategy and the decision to scrap the two-child limit, which the charity has long campaigned for, but warned the change will not take effect until April 2026 and will not help all families currently struggling.

“The Welsh Government is also taking steps on child poverty, but families need help now. That’s why we’re asking the public to get behind our Secret Santa campaign so we can continue supporting the children who need us most.”

Case study

Sarah, a single mother from South Wales living with chronic fibromyalgia, relies on Universal Credit and frequently uses food banks. She said Christmas is “an extremely stressful time”.

Her nine-year-old daughter attends Action for Children’s Emoji Project, which helps children understand and express difficult emotions. Last Christmas, the charity provided Sarah with a £250 food voucher and a new bed and mattress for her daughter.

Sarah said the support was transformative: “Every month is a struggle. We were on a pay-as-you-go electricity metre and I often let my daughter shower while I went without. My daughter’s old bed had broken and she was sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I sleep on the sofa, so I couldn’t help her. The shame and worry were enormous.”

“The food voucher took such a weight off my mind. It freed up money for heating. But Christmas still brings panic because I want her to have a magical day without knowing how anxious I am.”

PAUL SARTORI Hospice at Home is celebrating more than £3,000 of funding from the Co-op Local Community Fund and has announced it has once again been selected as a beneficiary for the 2025/2026 funding round.

The Haverfordwest-based hospice at home charity is now appealing to Co-op members across Pembrokeshire to choose Paul Sartori as their nominated cause, helping to secure crucial support until October 2026.

Co-op members can decide how the Local Community Fund is distributed simply by selecting a preferred local cause via the Co-op Membership App.

“We welcome this opportunity once again to appeal to Co-op members to choose us as their local Co-op cause, especially as funds for charitable organisations are becoming more difficult to access, with greater competition,” said Judith Williams, Grant Development Officer. “This is an opportunity for us to engage and encourage our community – and it doesn’t cost Co-op members a penny. Engaging with our local Membership Activator, Anwen, has really helped us to do this.”

The charity has received £3,044 in the 2024/2025 funding year. “This, along with the Co-op’s ongoing support, will help us make a difference and continue supporting end-of-life patients and their families in Pembrokeshire by providing the resources and equipment they need to live independently at home,” Judith added.

Since its launch in 2016, the Co-op Local Community Fund has supported nearly 40,000 community projects across the UK, with a focus on enabling communities to thrive by improving access to food, boosting mental wellbeing, creating opportunities for young people, strengthening community cohesion and supporting sustainable futures.

David Luckin, Head of Social Value and Community Engagement at Co-op, said: “We are delighted to hear the difference that our funding for Paul Sartori Hospice at Home is making in the community. As a co-operative, we are focused on creating value for our members and communities, and members have a say in where and how our funding is shared. We know that things are increasingly challenging for local causes, and our funding can make a real difference — helping people and communities thrive.”

The new round of support will help sustain the charity’s Equipment Loan Service, which provides essential items at short notice to help patients remain at home. The service complements statutory healthcare provision and often steps in where statutory services struggle to respond quickly, offering a compassionate, community-led model of care that promotes dignity and independence at the end of life.

All Paul Sartori services are free of charge and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year thanks to local generosity. The charity provides home nursing care, 24-hour support, standby services, complementary therapies, physiotherapy, bereavement and counselling support, future care planning and training. These services enable people with life-limiting illnesses to remain at home — pain free, supported and surrounded by loved ones, where that is their wish.

Further information about Paul Sartori Hospice at Home is available at www.paulsartori.org or by calling 01437 763223.

Pic: Anwen Evans, Co-op West Wales Membership Activator (left), with Judith Williams, Grant Development Officer at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home.