Date firm puts £1,000 smile on group’s faces
APERINATAL MENTAL health charity has received a funding boost from a company that helps keep romance alive for parents.
Smile Group, based on Hulley Road, Macclesfield, was set up to support families struggling with parenthood or postnatal depression and has been given £1,000.
It has come from business A Year of Dates, which makes crafted boxes containing date ideas for busy couples.
The company launched a new parents edition and wanted to give something back to a related cause.
Smile was founded by Natalie Nuttall and Ruth Elgin after they both had personal experience of postnatal depression and felt consistent support was lacking at a community level.
It has helped more than 200 women and families in the last 12 months and its services now also stretch to Congleton and Knutsford.
Among its activities are weekly peer support sessions, talk therapy and one-to-one home visits for parents unable to leave their homes due to anxiety and low mood.
Natalie said: “Lots of parents coming through our services find that perinatal mental illness can put an additional strain on relationships when they’re already feeling exhausted and vulnerable.
“Our partnership with A Year of Dates has been so natural and we have a great relationship with them as they genuinely care and feel strongly about giving back.
“We’re so grateful for their support and wish them every success as a business as they continue to thrive.”
Kate Greenhalgh, from A Year of Dates, said: “As a mum I know first-hand how hard it is to enjoy quality time with your partner when you have a baby. We’re thrilled to be able to contribute to Smile and we know that it will go straight back into the delivery of services and help people in the local community, where it matters most.”