You can now find us on instagram!
We are delighted to announce that you can now find Home-Start Sittingbourne & Sheppey on instagram! Our account is linked below.
https://www.instagram.com/homestartsittshep/
CELEBRATING 3 YEARS ADDITIONAL NATIONAL LOTTERY FUNDING
Home-Start Sittingbourne & Sheppey are really thrilled to announce that we have been granted a further three years of funding from the national lottery.
We are looking forward to offering emotional and practical support to families who have at least one child under the age of five years old and live in Sittingbourne, surrounding villages & the Isle Of Sheppey. Moving forwards this amazing grant will enable us to support more families in the community and set up a new family group.
We will work closely with statutory services & welcome referrals from those working with young families. We also welcome expressions of interest from individuals who may wish to volunteer with us by becoming a volunteer mentor or by joining our board of trustees.
Lastly & most importantly we would like to say thank you to everyone who plays the national lottery, without whom this three year funding would not be possible. If you’d like to get in contact you can email us at info@home-startsittingbourneandsheppey.org.uk or call us on 01795 429007.
Pictured left to right: Front row—Andy Smith (lottery officer), Christine White (chair). Middle row—Amy Garske & Wendy Tomlin (family support workers), Maureen (volunteer mentor). Final row— Allison McColl (manager), Beccie Peters (administrator & volunteer lead), Dilys, Kelly & Ann (volunteer mentors)
HOME-START CELEBRATES AFTER RECEIVING NATIONAL LOTTERY FUNDING!
We are celebrating today after being awarded 3-year funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
We will use this funding for our ‘Building Stronger Families’ Project to continue recruiting and training volunteer mentors to work with some of the most vulnerable families in the community, with families learning a wide range of skills to help them raise their children in happy, healthy ways.
This new National Lottery funding will enable us to support over 115 families over the next three years, starting from 1st April. Volunteer mentors support families within their own homes, encouraging and listening, playing, budget planning and making use of local parks and family services, giving them the confidence they need when raising a young family, thus reducing the feeling of isolation and anxiety. Home-Start Sittingbourne & Sheppey are always looking for new volunteer mentors to achieve this, and welcome applications from local parents, grandparents, or those with significant parenting experience.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The national Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.
Allison McColl, Manager of Home-Start Sittingbourne & Sheppey, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means that we can continue to provide a much-needed free support service for some of the most vulnerable families living in our community. We will be able to recruit, train and mentor additional volunteer mentors allowing us to provide emotional and practical support to families with young children living in Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.
Having the National Lottery Community Fund grant gives us the financial security to be able to develop and expand our support services, moving forward for families in need, because childhood can’t wait. This will make a big difference to people’s lives.”
VOLUNTEER MENTORS NEEDED!
Are you a parent, grandparent or carer? Can you offer your valuable parenting experiences to local families? Can you spare 2 hours a week?
We need people to volunteer one-to-one support with local families. You can make a difference to the lives of parents and their children, enhance your well-being, and access free, high quality training.
If you would like more information about becoming a volunteer mentor please contact the office.
HELP A FAMILY FLOURISH
We are recruiting volunteer mentors from Sittingbourne & Sheppey to help support local families. We recruit and train local volunteers so they are then able to offer local families the emotional and practical support they need.
If you have parenting or caring experience we need people with your knowledge to offer one-to-one support to families in Sittingbourne / Sheppey. If you are looking for a flexible voluntary role and can spare 2 hours a week then we would love to hear from you. Please email us at info@home-startsittingbourneandsheppey.org.uk