Happy holidays on the menu with donation

Children in Plymouth can look forward to “Happy Holiday” fun and a healthy meal this Easter break thanks to funding for a community interest group.

ProActive is raising funds to provide an affordable holiday programme to be based at the Mayflower Academy in North Prospect and the project has just been selected to receive £600 from Persimmon Homes Cornwall’s Community Champions scheme.

Barry Mounstevens, who runs ProActive and applied for the funding explained: “ProActive has raised circa £1,200 towards running a Happy Holiday affordable holiday programme during the Easter holiday. This programme will be based at Mayflower Academy in North Prospect and cater for students primarily on Free School Meals (FSM) from the local area.

“North Prospect is ranked 6th (out of 39) most deprived neighbourhoods in Plymouth, and with the loss of free school meals given out during term time, in addition to the extra childcare costs around the holidays, families already struggling with low budgets find it difficult to feed their children.

“ProActive aims to make holiday times fun and enjoyable, offering each child who attends the opportunity to take part in sports, arts and crafts, drama and fun, educational workshops, while also receiving a healthy meal.”

Jane Cartwright, sales director for Persimmon Homes Cornwall, said: “We are delighted to support ProActive with our Community Champions funds and hope the children will benefit from an enjoyable holiday experience.”

Persimmon Homes’ national match-funding programme Community Champions seeks to support groups and charities working to improve the quality of life for local people.

Each month the Launceston-based builder donates up to £2,000 to community groups across the region. This also happens across Persimmon’s other 31 operating areas, meaning up to £64,000 is dished out every single month – a total of £768,000 a year.

Jane added: “The Community Champions fund is all about giving back to the communities in which we build. If people were unsuccessful last month, we urge them to visit the Persimmon Homes website and to try again and hopefully they will become our next Community Champion.”