Plumber James Anderson, based in Lancashire, is attempting to raise big money to fund free plumbing services for vulnerable pensioners to help keep them warm this winter. James is also asking fellow plumbers to support this cause by donating their time and skills to deliver these free services.

PHAM News originally reported on James’s charitable work in October in an article about his charity, Depher, raising tens of thousands of pounds to fund free plumbing services for those who need it most.

With winter underway, James is once again asking the public to chip in to his GoFundMe campaign in an effort to raise £30,000, which is enough to help 1000 households.

With the UK facing its coldest winter in a decade, he wants to expand the scheme even wider to help elderly and vulnerable people across the country.

According to the Office of National Statistics, last year there were an estimated 50,100 excess deaths during the winter, 92% of which were among people aged 65 or over. Earlier this year, scientists from University College London predicted that the average temperature this winter will be 3.9°C, the coldest since 2010, meaning the elderly are at even more risk.

James Anderson launched Depher, a community initiative to provide free plumbing to elderly and vulnerable people, in 2017 and since then has helped over 2000 families. The network currently offers the service to people in Lancashire, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham and Scotland and are keen to recruit more plumbers throughout the UK.

“Last winter over fifty thousand people died because of the cold weather and this year is set to be even harsher,” says James Anderson, founder of Depher. “Many elderly people struggle to pay their heating bills, and if their boiler goes, they might not be able to afford to get it fixed, meaning they are left freezing. I urge people to donate to our campaign so we can help as many vulnerable people as possible. We would also love to hear from any plumbers up and down the country who would like to join our scheme and volunteer their time. Please do get in touch if you want to get involved.”

Depher’s plumbers give their labour for free and receive £30 through the scheme to cover their expenses. If any additional paid work comes about as a result, 2% of the fee goes to Depher and is reinvested in the business.

People who have been helped by James Anderson have written letters of thanks to him and left comments on the Depher Facebook page.

Rochelle Ireland from Falkirk wrote:

“Hot water and heating weren’t working and I was getting nowhere. My husband is disabled and I have a joint condition, as does our son. As soon as Depher heard our story, and the problems, they immediately agreed to help even though we live in Falkirk, Central Scotland. Dread to think how long it would have taken us to get this sorted. Thank you doesn’t cover it – you have taken a huge weight off at a very difficult time!”

The news of James Anderson’s generosity broke earlier this year after a tweet went viral showing an invoice he had issued for £0 to a terminally ill 91-year-old woman. The Depher Facebook page has been flooded with messages from around the world praising the initiative. Tony Natola from Illinois wrote “God bless you, your crews and all of your families for being there and helping our elders in need”, while Winnie Diaz from Denmark described James as a “great man with a wonderful heart of gold”.

Those interested in donating to the GoFundMe campaign can do so by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/depher