Children in Need helping disadvantaged children in Burnley

The new funding award - made possible following BBC Children in Need’s 2019 Appeal in November - will support the delivery of vital services to young people in the area and means that the charity now has more than £513,000 invested across Burnley.

New Era Enterprises Ltd have been awarded a three-year grant of £29,670 to deliver a lunch club for two to four year old children who have additional language and communication needs. During the weekly club, children and their parents will share a lunch together where they will take part in music, singing and storytelling, as well as other activities which will help them to develop communication skills and raise their confidence.

Sue Rae, director of operations at New Era Enterprises, said: “It’s wonderful news to hear that we have been awarded this funding from BBC Children in Need which will make a real difference to the development of the children that we work with.”

Across Burnley, BBC Children in Need is currently funding nine projects to a value of more than £513,000.

Elizabeth Myers, regional head of the North and South of England at BBC Children in Need, said: “We’re delighted to have awarded New Era Enterprises Ltd with this funding, which demonstrates how our grants make a positive difference to children and young people’s lives.”

In addition to these grants, BBC Children in Need has also recently launched two dedicated COVID-19 Response Programmes, following The Big Night In appeal on April 23rd, which brought BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief together for the first time.

These new grant programmes have been developed in response to the current crisis to support local charities and organisations across the UK who are providing essential help to children and young people in urgent need of support.

The COVID-19 2020 Booster Grants Programme has opened to the charity’s 3,000 local projects based in communities across the UK, to enable existing grant-holders to apply for funding up to £5,000 over a six-month period. In addition, the COVID-19 Next Steps Programme is open to applications and will enable organisations supporting children and young people across the UK to apply for funding up to £80,000 over an 18-month period.

Details on both funding programmes, and how to apply, can be found on BBC Children in Need’s website.

Simon Antrobus, chief executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “During these exceptional times I am delighted to be awarding funding which will positively impact young lives when they need it most. An enormous thank you must go to our incredible supporters, without whom these grants simply wouldn’t be possible.”