Project

We provide support and resources to families as well as a wide variety of activities for children aged 0-13 years in the Bulwell which is a disadvantaged area of Nottingham. We were set up 30 years by volunteers and are still managed by local people.

What does your charity/project do?

Our home visiting project helps families referred to us by Health Visitors when a young child needs help with speech and language development. We provide 6 Family Play sessions each week for parents and children under 5; we run 10 after school and holiday play sessions each week for children aged 5-13 years; these include 4 sessions of an outdoor natural play project in a local park. All of our work is led and defined by local people, we are a well known and trusted part of the community.

How does your charity/project support the local community?

We bring families together and work to develop mutual support networks so that people can find help from others who know how hard it can be to bring up children in difficult circumstances. We offer volunteering opportunities with support and help gain training. We help people to express their views through our management committee and children's committee. We have strong working partnerships with the local authority and advocate for local people through them.

What do you plan to use the CommunityForce award for?

We would use it to keep our Girls Group running next year. The group meets on Friday evenings on an extremely disadvantaged estate which is an area that is 34th worst in the country for access to Education, Skills and Training (Indices of Deprivation 2010). The group works with over 20 girls aged 9-13 each week. We aim to raise their aspirations and address the very high incidence of teenage pregnancy in this area. The money would pay for 2 staff, materials, equipment and occasional trips