Councillors’ help for Home-Start
Members of West Lothian Council’s Voluntary Organisations Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel recently visited Home-Start West Lothian to donate Christmas hampers to help those most in need this festive period.
The hampers donated by the panel members are just some of the many that the charity has received a part of their annual appeal.
The generosity of people in West Lothian has yet again astounded the staff at HomeStart following their appeal for donations of food and toiletries for the families they support. Forty-three complete hampers have been donated, ranging in size for families of two, to one for a family of seven.
Food donated included staple dry and tinned items and a few extra Christmas treats to ensure that the families have a very special Christmas.
Home-Start West Lothian supports any family living in West Lothian with at least one child under five years old who are going through a period of difficulty, including social isolation, disability, lack of family network and multiple births.
The family are matched with trained, volunteers who visit their homes and provide support through local groups to help parents to address any issues that they might be facing.
Allie Cherry- Byrnes, manager HomeStart West Lothian, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity again this year, including 30 hampers collected by PW & Partners, seven donated by students and staff at West Lothian College, and £900 in supermarket vouchers donated by Pumpherson Autocentre and Staff at The Royal Bank of Scotland, which means that we can provide 43 families with hampers containing food, toiletries, selection boxes and Christmas crackers. We’ll be delivering the hampers this week with the help of a team of volunteers from Cadence, who help with this each year.”
“We were also able to provide Christmas presents for every child with the support of customers and staff from Nationwide in Livingston, and Radio Forth’s Mission Christmas campaign, to help families have a Festive season to remember.”
There are many ways for people across West Lothian to get involved with Home-Start.
You can become a home-visiting volunteer to directly support families, join the Board of Trustees, or simply support the activities of the charity and help raise funds.
Please get in touch by phoning 01506 415755 or emailing allie@homestartwl.org.uk to find out how you can support local parents to give their children the best possible start in life.
Executive councillor for voluntary organisations and Chair of the West Lothian Council Voluntary Organisations PDSP, Kirsteen Sullivan said: “We are delighted to give this donation on behalf of the PDSP. The festive period is a happy time for many but for some it can be the most challenging time of the year.
“The work put in by charities such as HomeStart is simply vital in helping some of the most vulnerable people in our community.”
The work put in by charities like Home-Start is vital