Home-Start Wellingborough and District Awarded £105,000 Children in Need Grant

A community group dedicated to supporting young families through playgroups and home visits for parents has been awarded a grant by Children in Need. Home-Start Wellingborough and District received £105,000 from the BBC charity, which will be disbursed over a three-year period. These funds are allocated for the recruitment and training of staff and volunteers, including a speech and language therapist, as well as for organizing family outings. Tracey Witham, the manager, described the funding as “absolutely essential.” Vicky Long, a participant who has been attending Home-Start sessions since April, stated that the group assisted her and her daughter in coming “out of her shell.” She further commented, “I struggled with going anywhere by myself, but since [coming] my confidence has grown and now we come every week and we love it.” Fabienne Knight, another participant, has been involved with Home-Start for over two years, having been referred by the perinatal mental health service. Ms. Knight commended the volunteers for facilitating her connection with the community and enabling her to meet new individuals. She remarked: “I’ve met so many lovely mums. The volunteers have given me amazing advice. I play with my children and help their learning. It’s been really enjoyable.” In the previous year, Home-Start provided support to 78,900 children from 43,692 families throughout the UK. Additionally, over 8,000 children benefited from local initiatives that received £2.3 million in funding from Children in Need. Updates on Northamptonshire news are available on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.