Review of 2025 – our highlights from the year
2025 has been a huge year for our charity – including fantastic support from you raising funds for our vital work, a pair of prestigious awards and, of course, our move.
Here we look back on our highlights from the year we moved to larger offices due to increased demand and the growth of our amazing team.
Thank you for reading!
January
We had a great start to the year with the culmination of our Development Manager Rebecca’s 12 Dips of Christmas cold water swimming challenge. She raised a fantastic £537 plus gift aid for our charity. Thanks to everyone who donated
February
We are grateful to everyone who gave their time and skills to decorate our new premises during the first of our Work Party painting sessions. A special thanks go to Aviva and the members of the public who came to help us
March
Our annual Impact Report for 2024 showed it had been our busiest year on record – covered in the Yate & Sodbury Gazette, The Week In and Thornbury Radio. And we were invited to speak about the news on BBC Radio Bristol
Our Crowdfunder was launched – raising funds for furniture and fire doors needed at our new Advice Centre
April
April saw the launch of our Crowdfunder for items needed at our new Advice Centre. Thanks to your donations we reached £430. We also had a successful day at our first festival of the year – Yate St George’s Day Festival
May
Our Debt Team were shortlisted for the Institute of Money Advisers Awards for the third year in a row. They went on to win Debt Team of the Year at the conference – a fantastic result for our brilliant team of Debt Advisers
June
We said goodbye to our office of more than 30 years in Kennedy Way and moved into our new Advice Centre in Station Road on 23rd June. The move means we can help more people face-to-face each week
Our energy expert Marion was interviewed on BBC Points West about prepayment meters
July
We shared some lovely feedback from a couple helped by our Generalist Adviser Mary-Anne. They said: “Mary-Anne was so helpful and understood what our situation was. […] Mary-Anne did a brilliant job.”
August
We announced our latest free drop-in advice session in South Gloucestershire – at FACE in Filton each Wednesday 10am to 12 noon, funded by Filton Town Council. It’s brilliant to be providing advice in a new part of the region
September
We were extremely pleased to officially launch our new Advice Centre with an opening event attended by our partners and stakeholders. Thank you to Claire Young MP for her speech about our impact
Claire Young MP, MP for Thornbury and Yate, speaking at our launch event in September
October
We became a Community Welcome Space – meaning our doors in Yate are open to anyone wanting a hot drink and a biscuit and somewhere warm to sit during our Yate drop-in times – even if the person doesn’t want advice
November
Our When Advice Really Matters project – which provides holistic, practical advice to people with mental health needs – won a national Citizens Advice award for Client Service Innovation. A huge well done to Project Adviser India
December
We launched our Christmas Appeal – “Give the gift of good advice to those facing homelessness”. The number of people we help with homelessness has doubled in recent years and you can help our front-line Advisers by donating:
