Today our paper is backing an innovative appeal to change the lives of thousands of people including homeless people, battered women, families without a meal on the table and troubled teenagers.

Our borough has wealth and poverty living side by side, with one in three children living below the poverty line in some parts, and times are getting tougher.

The charity appeal Love Kingston has chosen five charities to help provide “pathways out of poverty”.

They are Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness, youth charity Oxygen supporting hard to reach young people, the Kingston Foodbank providing food in a crisis, credit union Kingston Savers and domestic violence refuge Hestia.

Love Kingston will help them raise money, offer them practical and professional support and help them unlock other sources of money.

Fifty per cent of any money raised will go to the projects and the other 50 per cent to a legacy fund which will be matched by Government funding called Community First and will help other Kingston charities in future.

Donations will be invested in an endowed fund with annual income supporting the charities further.

Kingston Guardian editor David Rankin said: “We have worked with these charities for many years, and we all know the good they can do for people. Times are getting harder for so many, so anything we can do to help is wonderful.

“Love Kingston will be a way to ensure we maximise the effectiveness of charitable fundraising and I would urge anybody who can get involved to do so.”

Fundraising manager Elaine Miller said Love Kingston would inspire a legacy of giving to be proud of.

She said: “This is such a wonderful community and everyone really does care about each other.

“Things really are challenging especially now when everybody is feeling the pinch but people are looking to their backyard and wanting to help.”

John Trend, director of Oxygen, said: “As it is really challenging times for small charities like us, this will enable us to do work we probably wouldn’t get to otherwise.”

Love Kingston, organised by Kingston Voluntary Action (KVA) in partnership with the London Community Foundation, will be launched on Thursday, October 4.

Edward Bentall has donated and Councillor Shiraz Mirza is on board.

Visit www.love-kingston.org.uk

Oxygen www.oxygen-online.org

Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness www.kcah.org.uk

Kingston Food Bank www.kingston.foodbank.org.uk

Hestia www.hestia.org

Kingston Savers www.surreysave.co.uk