Local children’s charity needs your votes to secure vital funding

A special needs playgroup is asking people in Hertfordshire to vote for them to win vital funding. Playskill, a Watford charity that supports children with special physical needs, is in the running to win £25,000 of vital funding. Playskill runs free specialist playgroups for pre-school children with physical disability or developmental delay, with support for parents and the whole family. Groups are held weekly at the Lemarie Centre on St Albans Road in Watford, and at Woodfield School in Malmes Croft, Hemel Hempstead. They support children from across Hertfordshire. The charity is bidding for a £25,000 community award from the OneFamily Foundation and Hertfordshire residents can show their support to help secure the funding by simply voting online at www.foundation.onefamily.com/projects/playskill The £25,000 award would enable Playskill to set up a much-needed extra group, to cope with growing demand for their services. Nisha Soni’s son Kush was born with Down’s Syndrome and suffers from Epilepsy. Kush attends a weekly session at Playskill, where he receives expert support from a paediatric physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and speech and language therapist. Mrs Soni said: “Being the parent of a child with special needs is hard, it’s relentless at times and it can be very lonely. “Having access to what Playskill offer is invaluable to me and my family. Kush loves it and it’s amazing to see the changes in him. I’m so grateful to Playskill for the support system it has allowed me to be a part of, and most of all the opportunities it has given our son.” The sessions use play as a tool for development, while the children are having fun, they are also learning to stand, eat, communicate and walk. The charity will be awarded £25,000 to set up a new group if they win and are asking for support and votes from locals ahead of the vote closing on July 20, 2016. To vote visit www.foundation.onefamily.com/projects/playskill