CAB tops the charity charts

I MINGLED with the great and the good at a reception given by North Walsham and District Citizens Advice Bureau last week.Some 50 to 60 guests had been invited to thank them for their individual or organisations' donations to the cause, or because CAB chiefs hoped they might cough up in future.

I MINGLED with the great and the good at a reception given by North Walsham and District Citizens Advice Bureau last week.

Some 50 to 60 guests had been invited to thank them for their individual or organisations' donations to the cause, or because CAB chiefs hoped they might cough up in future.

All charities are worthy, but the CAB has always struck me as Grade One Listed worthy. It's for everyone, its advisers' expertise is broad and deep - and it's free to use.

Lisa Joy, advice services manager, was telling me that they have seen a 'skyrocketing' increase over the past two months in the number of people seeking help because they have been made redundant.

Those clients bring a tangle of problems with them. They are worried about their mortgages and other debts, finding alternative work, and they are emotionally distressed and shellshocked.

Many have worked all their lives and have no knowledge of the benefits system which they now find themselves needing to understand and make use of.

It's a situation facing thousands of us personally, or those close to us, this year. If people already out of work hadn't got the CAB to turn to, where else would they go?

North Walsham CAB is always struggling for bread-and-butter funding and relies on donations. Last year advisers dealt with 12,662 enquiries from residents of towns and villages from Alby to Worstead, and Acle to Wroxham.

If you're a parish or district councillor anywhere in north Norfolk or Broadland, or belong to an organisation with money to give away, please stand up at your next meeting and persuade your fellows to support the CAB.