News release
Monmouthshire families will recieve support thanks to a £276,182 grant from The Big Lottery Fund
20th August 2010
Families who are finding parenting a struggle will soon be able to access help and advice once a new family support charity is set up in the area.
Home-Start Monmouthshire will be one of over 300 local Home-Starts that are spread right across the UK, with 18 already in Wales.
Home-Start recruits and trains parent volunteers who offer emotional and practical support to families who are struggling to cope. This can be for a whole range of reasons, including; poverty, isolation, illness, lone parenting, multiple births and teenage parents. In fact Home-Start volunteers support any parents that are simply finding life a bit difficult.
The grant of almost £280,000 will provide Home-Start Monmouthshire with three years of funding. Part of it will be used to set up and employ a full time manager, a part time coordinator and administrator who will then recruit, train and match local volunteers to families in need of help.
The lottery grant for Home-Start Monmouthshire has come at a time when many charities are facing an uncertain future due to cuts in public funding. Having a charity that will contribute to the government’s Big Society agenda will be a positive contribution to the Monmouthshire community.
John Waters, chair of trustees at Home-Start Monmouthshire said: “We are thrilled with this news. Home-Start Monmouthshire has been a steering group for the last two years, a lot of time, energy and commitment has been put into setting up this latest branch of Home-Start. It’s great that we are finally ready to begin to look for staff, and volunteers to support our local families. We are hoping to start the recruitment process in early Autumn, so watch this space!”
To find out more about the work of Home-Start and how our volunteers support families, please visit www.home-start.org.uk
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Contact:
Jo McLeish, Press and PR Officer, Home-Start UK.
Tel: 0116 2587933, Email: jmcleish@home-start.org.uk
www.home-start.org.uk
Notes to Editor
Home-Start
Home-Start is the UK’s leading family support charity. We recruit and train volunteers to support parents with at least one child under the age of five. Our home visiting work is unique in the UK. The charity was set up in 1973 and now has 334 local Home-Starts spread across the UK. Over 16,000 volunteers visit families in their own homes – parents supporting other parents in a variety of situations including isolation, bereavement, multiple births, illness or disability. Nationally Home-Start supports nearly 35,000 families across the UK.
Home-Start in Wales
There are 18 Home-Starts in Wales, 968 parent volunteers support 1,736 families and 3,599 children.
The Big Lottery Fund
Under Reaching Communities, the Big Lottery Fund awards grants between £10,000 and £500,000 to projects that offer people better life chances, build stronger communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and improve health and well being.
