Steps given £90,000 grant boost by Children In Need
THE Steps charity in Shepshed is celebrating after being awarded a £90,000 Children In Need grant.
Founded in 1994 and based in Loughborough Road, Shepshed, it’s a charity for children who are born with motor disorders such as Down’s syndrome or cerebral palsy and provides a free service for families from across the East Midlands.
It has annual running costs of £250,000 with the majority of funding raised by donations, fundraising and grants.
The BBC Children In Need grant will be split with £30,000 being paid each year for three years.
Steps fund-raiser Trish Mabbott said she was thrilled when she heard that Steps had been granted the award for the third time.
“Without the support of grants such as this, it would be impossible to provide our service that is as essential both for parents who have children with additional needs as it is for the children themselves.
“What we offer is only available in a few centres throughout the UK and we have been described by our parents as providing them with a lifeline at a time when the world might feel like a very dark and lonely place.”
After visiting Steps to see how the funding would make a difference, Dimple Patel, BBC Children in Need Grants Officer, said; “We are delighted to be funding projects like Steps which will be working hard to help make an impact on the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the East Midlands.
“Grants like this are made available thanks to our supporters who donate their time, money and energy to help raise money for BBC Children in Need and make this all possible.”
During the visit, Trish explained that children can come to us from a very early age and that this early intervention is essential for helping them to gain increased benefits and skills.
Most children are later able to take up places in mainstream schools and when they are due to do so, their designated learning assistants are invited into the centre to enable them to get to know the child who they will be working with and to become familiar with what they can achieve, which is essential to enable individuals to extend their potential.
Trish Mabbott added: “Everything that we do here at Steps helps each child to become their own person and to accept who they are.
“We are so grateful to BBC Children in Need for awarding us this grant to help us continue to support the families that have children with additional needs.”