Bedfordshire CHUMS wins £10,000 Movement for Good award

Silsoe-based CHUMS is one of 30 charities to benefit from a £10,000 windfall, thanks to a grant from an insurance company.

The Ecclesiastical Insurance Group's annual Movement for Good awards come at a critical time for the charity, which supports the mental health of children and young people by promoting good social, emotional and psychological wellbeing.

CHUMS' head of fundraising and communication, Sue Clarke, said: "We were thrilled to be chosen as one of just 30 charities nationally to benefit from these much sought-after grants. "The money will be used to fund four recreational therapeutic programmes supporting up to 40 children and young people over the next few months.

"We pride ourselves on providing long lasting and effective tools to cope going forward, so that young people can reflect on what helped in each difficult situation. And we're still getting higher than normal referrals for the Bedfordshire suicide bereavement, trauma and recreational therapeutic services."

She added: "Mental health support remains a huge challenge for our communities and we desperately need to see extra funding filtering down to local organisations like CHUMS Charity.

"The emergency grants in 2020 are no longer available and competition for funding is fierce."

Ecclesiastical Group CEO Mark Hews said: "Charitable causes need sustained support and a sense of financial stability.

"We know that £10,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we're looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better."

> There were more than 1,000 project submissions for the awards.