Kate Winslet has given £17,000 to Carolynne Hunter in response to her skyrocketing energy bill, which has kept her daughter, who has cerebral palsy, on life support.
Kate Winslet gives £17,000 to a needy mother in order to keep her 12-year-old daughter alive
Also read: Peter Kay has announced new tour dates for his sold-out tour
Kate Winslet has donated £17,000 to a mother who is struggling to pay her energy bill after a huge rate increase, allowing her to keep her 12-year-old daughter alive on life support.
Carolynne Hunter, of Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, feared she wouldn’t be able to afford the oxygen her daughter Freya needs as a cerebral palsy patient with chronic breathing problems after the sharp increase in her energy bill.
Ms Hunter, 49, was informed by the council that her bill would be increased to £17,000 from the initial rate of £6,500, leaving her unable to cope.
Following the BBC Scotland report on the heartbreaking situation, actress Kate, 47, who is estimated to be worth around £50 million, contacted Ms Hunter and generously donated to the family’s GoFundMe page.
“Our journey as a family has been very traumatic and I just feel done at this point in my life,” an overwhelmed Ms Hunter told the Daily Mail.
“When I heard about the money I just burst into tears — I thought it wasn’t even real. I’m still thinking ‘Is this real?’”
Her daughter Freya has been able to remain on life support at the family’s council house, despite the fact that it is inefficiently heated.
Miss Hunter stated that in order to save money and run the kit for her daughter, she turned off the heating in most rooms of the house.
The family currently pays £6,500 per year to maintain the life support machine and heat the home.
Ms Hunter is unable to receive low-income household assistance because she works full-time in the third sector and earns a decent wage.
Kate’s generous contribution will ensure that Ms Hunter and her family can care for their daughter for the next year.
Ms Hunter continued: “I didn’t speak out to get donations but at the same time I have to make sure that Freya is OK.”
“I’m going to be helped but what about everyone else? I wanted the Government to pay for it and do the right thing — it shouldn’t have to be a celebrity that steps in.”
The mother is concerned that power outages will occur this winter as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, putting her daughter Freya’s health at risk.
Ms Hunter said: “We’re still freezing and we’re not even at minus temperatures yet. I am nipping at the staff not to put the heating on unless it’s necessary.
“The council have put solar panels up to help but I don’t think it’ll help with the bill.”
