Volunteers, community champions, funders and local dignitaries pledged their support on Friday afternoon at the launch of Hertfordshire’s largest children and families support charity, Home-Start Hertfordshire.
The launch of Home-Start Hertfordshire was a huge success as over 100 guests attended their event at the beautiful St Michaels’ Manor.
The event focused on the need for early years intervention and support for families. With schools reporting that ever increasing numbers of children are coming through their doors not ready to learn.
Guest speaker Nicola Marshal of Brave Heart Education spoke about how we assume children have the skills they need because they’ve learnt them at home, but for various reasons this is not the case.
Award winning author Ken Follett who has supported Home-Start for 10 years praised the charity on the support it provides to families and young children.
The event concluded with everyone being invited to make a pledge of support to Home-Start.
Helping to support our future generation is something everyone should be part of, with our support they can be the best they can be!
“We were quite overwhelmed by the pledges given, from crossing the Sahara to giving time to volunteer; we have seen the true level of support for Home-Start in Hertfordshire. With so many local council representatives agreeing to become our champions, I am confident that Home-Start will be supporting families for generations to come.” – Lara Norris CEO.
“The event highlighted a really important issue and in my time as a school governor I have come across many children who struggle when they start school and either don’t fit in or can’t keep up with their peer group. Home-Start have always provided exceptional support to families and children and this support helps them have a positive start to life and improved outcomes” – Ken Follett – Patron of Home-Start Herts.
The launch was a real success and it was great to have so many people there. The afternoon had a really positive vibe and it was wonderful to see that so many people share our passion for what Home-Start does. We are extremely grateful to all of our sponsors, particularly St Michael’s Manor who provided the venue for us and were exceptional hosts on the day. Thanks to The Big Lottery Celebrate fund, support from local business’ and A Plan Insurance, the cost of the event was covered, this is a real bonus as it means we haven’t had to utilise valuable family support resources. – Suzy Moody – Strategic Manager.
