A parent baby and toddler group saved from closure has received a vital injection of funding from Tamworth Co-operative Society’s Community Dividend Fund.
Kingsbury Tumble Time had been in danger of folding until volunteers took over the running of the group from the Methodist Church in 2015.
Emma Horsham, manager of the Tamworth Co-op’s Kingsbury convenience store, hands over the cheque to Kingsbury Tumble Time chairperson Michelle Eldred and treasurer Sharon Wilkes in front of delighted children and parents.
Now it has been given £615 from the fund to buy more tables and chairs, and craft materials. Some of the money will also be spent on creating a storage area.
The cash has been raised by shoppers at the Tamworth Co-op’s convenience store in Kingsbury donating the dividends they earn on their purchases to help the non-profit organisation.
Kingsbury Tumble Time chair person Michelle Eldred said: “We’re really grateful to the Tamworth Co-op and its customers for this support. It’s very important for us as we receive no funding. The children pay a subscription which covers the rent of the building and the cost of providing snacks, but that doesn’t leave us with any money to enhance our facilities. So this donation is brilliant.”
The group, which meets every Thursday morning at Kingsbury Methodist Church during term time, provides play facilities for children up to the age of five. It also has a corner where babies are put on a play mat to get them used to a social environment.
The youngsters enjoy a wide variety of activities, including arts and crafts sessions, messy play, singing and sign language, designed to develop their co-ordination and communications skills.
Emma Horsham, manager of Tamworth Co-op’s Kingsbury convenience store, said: “It’s good to see the money raised from our customers’ dividends being put back into the community to an organisation right on our doorstep virtually.
“The Community Dividend Fund hands out thousands of pounds each year to charities, schools and other local organisations in the Tamworth Co-op trading area. This year more than a dozen good causes will be benefiting from the scheme.”