Telford 50 legacy funds help to ease extra financial pressure for families during school holidays
The Council recognises that many families, especially those on low income, are under additional pressure during long school holidays.
As such, five organisations in the borough are taking part in a new initiative to help those families to provide activities and healthy meals during school holidays.
The scheme has secured £12,500 from Telford & Wrekin Council’s Telford 50 Legacy Fund and will be divided equally between five community groups offering a range of holiday activities including a free meal for children.
The community organisations who have volunteered to take part are Brookside Big Local, Donnington Community Hub, Great Dawley Town Council, the Hub on the Hill in Sutton Hill and the Park Lane Centre in Woodside.
They will offer a range of sports, arts, craft, cooking and other activities for children during the holidays that will also provide a breakfast or lunch.
It is planned that the Telford 50 legacy funding will help these schemes to become a regular feature during school holidays in future.
Each organisation will be promoting the activities and they are also looking for people willing to help out at these sessions.
Anyone wanting to find out more can contact 01952 382133 or email communityparticipationteam@telford.gov.uk
Cllr Paul Watling, cabinet member for Children and Adults Early Help and Support, said: “During the school holidays, there might be extra costs for families to provide meals and activities for their children.
“Telford Crisis Network, who run the borough’s main food bank, say they see an increase in referrals in the holidays, underlining how making ends meet can be difficult for some families.
“We’re very grateful to these community organisations that want to step up and offer activities to support young people.
We hope we can make this a regular feature in the borough as a lasting legacy of Telford 50.”
The £2m Telford 50 Legacy Fund supports a mix of physical schemes as well as other projects that help tackle key social issues in the borough and reduce demand on council services.
Almost 1,400 people took part in a consultation in the summer of 2017 to find out what people wanted to see supported as a legacy of Telford 50.
The most popular themes included heritage and tourism, arts and culture and recreation. People were also keen to see the funding allocated to support community events and projects.
