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Calling all budding authors! Can you put pen to paper to raise money for Home-Start Bridgwater?
“In the current economic climate, charities have constantly to come up with fresh ideas and innovative ways of bringing in the funds vital to survival,” says Juls Harkness, organiser for Home-Start Bridgwater, adding, “So we thought, why not appeal to creative writers nationally, by setting up a story competition?”
Launching this month, the charity’s competition offers prizes of up to £500. Thanks to sponsors’ generosity, the whole of every entry fee (£7 per story) will go directly to the organisation’s work with families. The closing date is 1st February 2012.
Judging the competition will be award-winning novelist Patricia Ferguson.
Anyone may enter and by doing so will help vulnerable and disadvantaged families that face challenges in giving their young children a sound start in life.
In an ideal world Home-Start wouldn’t be needed. But for many parents the pressures of family life are simply too much to cope with alone. There are so many reasons for this, including poverty, illness, family breakdown, isolation, addiction, and health issues both physical and mental.
Referrals to Home-Start come from a wide range of sources, including Health Visitors, GPs, Midwives, and Social Care, while about 10% of supported families are self-referred.
And this is where Home-Start Bridgwater steps in. Trained and vetted volunteers, themselves parents, are invited into the homes of some of the most vulnerable families in Somerset. They provide practical and emotional support among the 35,000-strong community.
In the last nine months alone, Bridgwater volunteers have worked with 33 families including 49 under-fives. The charity has only two paid workers, both part-time. This is one of 334 Home-Starts spread right across Britain, adding up to the UK’s leading family support charity.
A story competition fits well with Home-Start’s ethos. Many volunteers take books and writing materials into the homes of families they support. Encouraging under-fives to develop a love of books helps them prepare for school life.
For entry details, authors should go to www.homestart-bridgwater.org.uk; email office@homestart-bridgwater.org.uk; or phone 01278 238858.
