Fuel for Life: Supporting vulnerable kidney patients facing energy poverty

In southern/western Hampshire, 43,788 people with CKD are facing hardship. Please support Utilita Giving and Kidney Care UK’s Fuel for Life Challenge, supporting vulnerable kidney disease patients facing energy poverty.

On the 26th of November a group of runners will be taking on a huge challenge to support this cause. All proceeds from this challenge will go directly to the Kidney Care UK patients that need it the most.

About the challenge:

• The challenge is to run over 26 miles between the Utilita Energy Head office in Eastleigh to the Kidney Care UK Head Office in Alton.

• Runners will be stopping at key points along the way; including Winchester town centre and Chandlers Ford Dialysis Unit.

• We're hoping to have 72 runners taking part, representing the 7.2 million people with kidney disease.

• There will be around 13-14 runners per leg, equal to the number of people added to the kidney transplant list every day.

• The runners will cover a distance between 25 and 30 miles which is the equivalent to around 70,000 steps, equal to the number of people on kidney replacement therapy in the UK right now.

• The distance is also around 40km, which matches the fact that your kidneys filter your blood 40 times a day.

The Route

About Kidney Care UK

Kidney Care UK is the UK’s leading kidney patient support charity. Celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year, the charity provides direct support to thousands of people with kidney disease and their families every year through their practical, emotional and financial support services. In addition to these, the charity also provides a huge range of accredited patient information resources and peer support to thousands of people through their online community. Right now, 7.2 million people are living with kidney disease in the UK. That’s the equivalent to 1 in 10 people. Around 70,000 of these people are living with stage 5 kidney disease, or kidney failure, and are on kidney replacement therapy, where they rely on dialysis to do the work of their kidneys until they can have a transplant (although not everyone will be able to have one). Currently the transplant waiting list is the longest it has ever been and every day more than 13 people are added to this list.

Only around 26% of people on dialysis are able to work full time, and according to the Office for National Statistics chronic kidney disease results in an average loss of earnings of £14,721 over five years following a diagnosis (second only to stroke). This has an impact on family finances and means that many people with kidney disease have to turn to charities for support.

About Utilita Giving:

Utilita Giving, are an award winning charity, established by Utilita Energy in 2022. They are dedicated to alleviating and preventing the hardship caused by fuel and food poverty while raising public awareness about this critical issue. They work with trusted partners to provide practical, personalised support to those who need it most.

Their flagship pilot, One Call, That’s All, ensures that people can access the right help quickly and easily. They are currently working with IncomeMax and nine local charity partners in Luton and Leicester, who together are helping households move out of crisis and towards long-term stability.

What Makes Utilita Giving’s ‘One Call, That’s All’ Unique

This award-winning flagship pilot offers two distinct routes for people to receive personalised support. Coordinated online support, delivered by IncomeMax, ensures that with just one referral and one conversation, individuals receive tailored help based on their specific needs, whether that’s financial aid, material assistance, or casework. In Luton and Leicester, nine community charities work collaboratively with Utilita Energy Hubs to provide place-based, wraparound support. By connecting local knowledge, expertise, and resources, this approach helps create lasting change within communities.

For more information please visit www.utilitagiving.org