OUTGOING Whitehill town mayor Cllr Bisi Kennard nominated Citizens Advice East Hampshire as her mayoral charity in March.

A donation of £1,000 was agreed at Whitehill Town Council’s annual council meeting on May 12. This will help the Whitehill & Bordon branch of Citizens Advice East Hampshire support its local community.

Cllr Kennard said: “During my year as mayor it has been a priority of mine to shine a light on the organisations serving our community and it was my pleasure to visit the Citizens Advice office in April.

“The current situation with living costs is stretching household budgets, especially with the spiralling cost of energy and fuel prices; it is reassuring to see a local service ready and able to provide such critical support.

“Therefore I would like to make a donation to Citizens Advice East Hampshire to benefit residents of Whitehill & Bordon in these difficult times.”

Helen Drake, chief executive of Citizens Advice East Hampshire, said: “We are delighted that the Whitehill town mayor Bisi Kennard has made us her mayoral charity for this year, and that she found time to visit our office.

“Our volunteers do a fantastic job supporting the local community with their advice and information needs.

“We are needed now more than ever with energy and food prices going up and the cost of living becoming challenging for everyone.

“Our experienced team in Whitehill & Bordon are able to help local people with a wide range of problems including managing their finances, employment, debt or housing problems as well as support them to claim any benefits that they are entitled to receive.

“Please contact us for initial advice via our telephone number 0808 278 7901.”

Citizens Advice East Hampshire is currently recruiting new volunteers in a range of interesting roles as demand for Citizens Advice services increases.

Helen said: “Our recent phone analysis shows about 100 extra calls per month since January 2022 from East Hampshire residents.

“The rises are primarily in the areas of debt, finances, employment and benefit claims. Energy advice is a massive issue for us.”

Anyone interested in volunteering for Citizens Advice should visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/local/east-hampshire/volunteer/