A donation of £6,379 has been received by Home-Start Wessex from NFU Mutual’s Bournemouth Agency. The local charity was nominated to receive the funds from NFU Mutual’s national £1.92million ‘Agency Giving Fund’.

Now in its third year, the fund was launched to help frontline charities across the country. The Agency Giving Fund forms part of NFU Mutual’s £3.25m funding pledge for local and national charities in 2022 to help tackle the ongoing effects of the pandemic and assist with recovery.

John Heather, senior agent at NFU Mutual New Forest, Isle of Wight and Bournemouth, said: “NFU Mutual has been a champion of local communities the length and breadth of the UK for over 110 years, and the Agency Giving Fund supports local causes that are working day and night to change people’s lives and give hope for a better future. We’re extremely proud to have nominated Home-Start Wessex for this donation and are delighted to be able to support the vital contribution they make to our local community in Dorset and Hampshire.”

Caroline Pope from Home-Start Wessex, added, “We’re enormously thankful to the Bournemouth agency of NFU Mutual for nominating our charity to receive this fantastic donation. The money will make a significant difference in helping us support families in need in our local community. These families are facing more challenges than ever, with the ongoing effects of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Childhood can’t wait, and we know that the help we provide can make a life-changing difference.”

Since 1995, Home-Start Wessex has helped over 3,500 local families and supported over 10,000 children in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, the Purbecks, Blandford and Cranborne and into the Wiltshire and Hampshire borders.

The donation will enable the charity to train and support more volunteers.