BBC Children in Need has awarded a three-year grant to West Somerset’s Family Support charity CLOWNS.
It will go towards the cost of running new Wild Walks project and popular Tumbling Toddlers sessions.
In recent months, CLOWNS (Creating Learning Opportunities in Western Somerset) was faced with a bleak future when it lost local authority funding and also came to the end of its Big Lottery five-year funding for the double decker playbus sessions.
Trustees have had to use the charity’s free reserves and local fundraising to keep sessions going, with a slimmed down timetable of provision.
But, as well as the support from Children in Need, CLOWNS was also awarded a recent grant from Exmoor National Park Authority’s Partnership Fund.
With this, CLOWNS staff piloted some Wild Walks during the winter, taking families out and about to discover some of the places to explore on Exmoor.
And, having discovered special sites in the natural environment through the popular sessions, families have been returning to the same spot to show others.
Now CLOWNS is hopeful that further funding will be forthcoming to continue other much-needed projects such as the Outreach project, which visits individual families offering support and a listening ear, and the Toy Library and Resource Centre.