Children in Need grants for county now top £2.7m

The latest projects set to benefit include a cancer bereavement support group for young people based in Preston and a project to help youngsters at risk of homelessness in South Ribble.

Leyland-based KEY South Ribble has been granted £10,000 to help fund the drop-in service it runs at the youth and community centre in West Paddock.

Ursula Patten at KEY said: “When young people come to the service they often feel that home is like a war zone with constant arguments. The young people feel very alone, unheard and are at risk of becoming homeless.

“The BBC Children in Need funding will enable KEY to help the young people and their parents or careers to understand each other better and to learn more effective ways of expressing their thoughts.”

Cancer Help (Preston) Ltd, which runs a day care centre at Vine House in Cromwell Road, Ribbleton, has also been awarded £10,000.

The organisation provides a service to support five to 18-year-olds who struggle to come to terms with a bereavement of someone close to them. The funding will enable the young people to explore their feelings through art and creative therapy.

Rainbow House in Mawdesley receives £10,000 to help children with conditions that impact upon their development. Staff say the funding will enable them to strengthen hands-on, early intervention work. And in Blackpool the Carers Trust Fylde Coast will get £9,963 to provide respite support, training, day trips and peer support to young people with caring responsibilities.