Families benefit from £105k Children in Need grant

A community group that supports young families by running playgroups and visiting parents at home has received a grant from Children in Need.

Home-Start Wellingborough and District has been awarded £105,000, paid over three years, from the BBC charity.

The money will go towards recruiting and training staff and volunteers, including a speech and language therapist, and outings for families.

Manager Tracey Witham said the funding was "absolutely essential".

Vicky Long, who has been attending sessions at Home-Start since April, said the group helped her and her daughter come "out of her shell".

"I struggled with going anywhere by myself, but since [coming] my confidence has grown and now we come every week and we love it," she added.

Another participant, Fabienne Knight, has been attending Home-Start for more than two years after being referred by the perinatal mental health service.

Ms Knight praised the volunteers for helping her connect with the community and meet new people.

She said: "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."

Last year Home-Start supported 78,900 children from 43,692 families across the UK.

More than 8,000 children benefited from local projects supported by £2.3m in funding from Children in Need.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.