A NEW Friends for Families initiative will be launched to promote awareness of children’s charity Home-Start North Dorset (HSND).

HSND needs £70,000 every year to train and fund volunteer parents to provide hands-on assistance to families in the area with young children who are struggling to cope - domestic circumstances are often complicated by mental health or abuse issues or rural isolation. Friends for Families aims to create a network of sympathetic supporters who will each commit to raising £300 over the financial year from April 1–March 31.

Each new Friend will be able to refer to the HSND website (https://home-start-northdorset.co.uk/news/) for a list of tips and ideas for ways to raise funds locally and at home including book clubs; bingo/bridge/chess evenings, poker nights, home salons, home cinema evenings, car boot sales, local bake sales, wine tastings etc. As money is raised, Friends can donate directly to a dedicated Virgin Moneygiving site on the HSND website and review general progress of the campaign.

The target for the campaign is £15,000. Friends will also be encouraged to find and refer other new Friends.

Trained parent volunteers are allocated to a family in need for between three – six months (on average) to provide support and encourage parental confidence going forward. HSND is currently on a recruitment drive to attract more volunteers, as well as funding for their training and support, with approximately £1,500 required per volunteer.