Lottery funding helping to support project at Staffordshire family centre

A Cannock charity putting children and families first has been able to fully run a community project after receiving a substantial funding boost from the National Lottery.

The West Chadsmoor Family Centre has been working in the community since 1996, first as a community group, then as a registered charity in 2005, to  support, nurture and provide life opportunities and experiences for vulnerable and disadvantaged children aged 0-4 years and their families across Chadsmoor, Cannock and the surrounding area.

The charity has been able to run a project called "Blossom and Flourish" throughout the year after receiving £423,696 from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Manager and safeguarding lead Heather Preece spoke about what the project entailed and what the funding had helped to do.

She said: "The project began earlier this year and is designed to support families in the area.

"We offer baby sessions and toddler sessions and there's also a parent programme which helps people in the early stages of parenting and all the issues that people have around feeding, sleeping, potty training and anything else like that.

"We also run staff from the parents themselves, such as education sessions with a creche and we also run a brunch club on Mondays for parents, children and the local community where people can come and get a breakfast.

"We've got an allotment that the families can come and grow and plant and dig and do things with the children and there's a lot more else that we do."

Ms Preece said the funding had helped the centre to become a bigger resource within the community.

She said: "It's amazing as it means we've got the resources to do the best we can for the local community, local families and children.

"We can help them to get the best they can for their children, get them school ready and get the support for themselves when life is not always easy.

"We've been able to become an all-round centre that families can come to and they can all get something out of it."