The Surviving Winter campaign to help save lives in Somerset has received pledges of more than £10,000 in its first few days.

Somerset Community Foundation is asking people over 60 who do not need their Winter Fuel Payments to donate them to the charity, and gift aid them so that it can help vulnerable people and the grass roots organisations who help them.

The Western Daily Press is backing the campaign and today we highlight one of the local organisations that could benefit from the appeal.

Accessible Transport West Somerset, ATWEST, is a community transport scheme operating across West Somerset. It provides affordable door-to-door transport services for local residents. Most of its passengers are elderly or disabled, often living in remote rural areas.

It ensures that its passengers retain their independence, whether by taking people to their weekly shop, to a doctor's appointment or to a whist drive.

Ruth Lawless, 84, in Withycombe, near Minehead, said "Everyone who uses ATWEST cannot imagine life without it, particularly in the winter."

Barbara Middleton, chairman of ATWEST, says: "Without ATWEST many of our most vulnerable elderly residents would be very isolated, unable to access basic services. With our help they are able to live more independent lives. We are very fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteer drivers who really care about their passengers and will go the extra mile to make sure they are safe and well."

Last winter, for example, Mrs Hayes, 88, who lives on her own in Stogumber had just been dropped home by her driver when she told him her boiler was broken. Without a moment's hesitation he drove back to the ATWEST office in Minehead, picked up the office heater and left it with her until her boiler was fixed. It took eight days to repair her heating system. She told us, "very simply, they gave me a lifeline."

Justin Sargent, director of the foundation, added "The Surviving Winter appeal, supported by the Western Daily Press, will help ensure that organisations like ATWEST and the Lawns Club, a lunch club in Minehead, continue to support the most vulnerable people over winter

"Funding for these organisations is becoming much harder to find from places like the Lottery and Local Government schemes, and they simply do not have the profile of better-known, larger charities.

"The Surviving Winter appeal gives local people the opportunity to give something back to their community and ensure that these organisations are here, when they are most needed, for the local people who rely on them.

"We are very grateful to everyone who has pledged to donate their Winter Fuel Payments this year, but we need to raise much more to meet the need on the ground. "

You ca make your own contribution by filling in the form below.