Hollywood actress Kate Winslet has donated $20,000 (£17,000) to a mom facing huge home energy bills to operate the life-support equipment of her child with a disability, according to CNN.
Carolynne Hunter's 12-year-old daughter Freya has cerebral palsy and other disabilities, and severe health problems. The young girl relies on receiving oxygen for chronic breathing problems and receives 24-hour at-home nursing care.
The mom of four from Clackmannanshire, Scotland, launched a GoFundMe campaign earlier this month to help raise $24,000 (£20,000) for the running costs of the equipment that keeps her kid alive.
Winslet surprises family with huge donation
Hunter explained on the fundraising page that the annual cost for Electric & Gas, as forecasted by an energy advisor at Clacks Council, will likely be around £17,000. She told BBC Scotland in an interview that it currently costs her family $7,600 (£6,500) a year to run the life-support equipment and heat their home.
Hunter said they have already been forced to cut back in recent months. To keep their costs as low as possible, they decided that Freya's room would be the only one heated. They need to keep heating in her room so that Freya and the healthcare workers are comfortable.
She added that the council had put up solar panels to help with the blackouts, but she does not think it will help with the bill. Days into Hunter's campaign, a surprising donation of £17,000 marked "Kate Winslet and family" was given to the fundraiser.
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Soaring energy costs affecting millions of Britons
Hunter said that she was overwhelmed by the generosity of the actress, who also reached out to wish her family well. Winslet is a patron of the Go Beyond charity that provides free respite breaks for underprivileged and disadvantaged kids across the United Kingdom.
Hunter said that their journey as a family has been very traumatic, and she feels done at this point in her life. She just burst into tears when she heard about the money that Winslet donated. At first, she thought it was not even real, and she is still thinking if it is real.
This problem is not unique to Hunter, and her family, as millions of Britons are facing a challenging winter amid soaring energy costs and economic turmoil in the UK.
Hunter said that she would be helped, but what about everyone else? She said that she wanted the government to pay for it and do the right thing, and it should not have to be a celebrity that steps in to fix the problem.
Research firm Auxilione estimated in September that without a new plan to hold down electricity prices, millions of Britons' average yearly energy bill could top $6,700 (£5,700) from next April.
