Tring Child Contact Centre receives funding boost from Cala Homes

Tring Child Contact Centre has received a helping hand from Cala Homes, as part of the homebuilder’s Community Bursary initiative.

The centre serves all communities in and around Tring, providing safe spaces where children can meet the parents they don't live with. It offers supported contact and is suitable for families where no significant risk to the child or those around the child has been identified.

Cala Homes, which is building Roman Park in Tring, invited entries for the Community Bursary scheme last year, providing organisations, charities and community groups in the area with the opportunity to apply for a share of £10,000 to help fund local projects.

Tring Child Contact Centre was chosen as one of the recipients, and has been awarded £1,500, with money going towards the purchase of storage and new toys for the children.

The organisation cares for children of all ages, which means they need a variety of equipment to cater to each group. The money will also help support running costs which includes rent, refreshments and administration costs.

The Child contact centre has been in Tring since 2000 and is run by fully trained volunteers.

Visits are made by referral from parents, social workers, solicitors, family mediators or by court order.

The Tring Child Contact Centre falls under the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC).

Janet Langdon, co-ordinator at Tring Child Contact Centre, said: “More than a million children have no contact whatsoever with one of their parents after separation, which unfortunately can cause some children to experience behavioural issues including antisocial behaviour, distress, unhappiness as well as both physical and emotional problems.

"NACCC is the only charity in the UK dedicated to solving these issues by providing safe spaces where children can meet the parents they don’t live with.”

Across the UK, Cala’s Community Bursary initiative awarded over £100,000 in 2021 to good causes, bringing the total donated to more than £400,000 since the initiative was launched in 2016.

Janet added: “We have recently moved to a new venue at Nora Grace Hall, Faversham Close, and rely on fundraising and grants to keep open.

"We have a great team of volunteers, some who have been with us since the beginning so many thanks to Cala Homes for recognising our needs."

Sharon Dulai, Marketing Manager at Cala Homes (Chiltern), said: “We are delighted to be supporting the work of Tring Child Contact Centre, which has a huge impact on local children and

parents.

"We are looking forward to seeing how the Bursary funding will help support the charity in providing safe spaces for families across Hertfordshire. At Cala, we are committed to making a

lasting contribution to the communities in which we build and the Community Bursary is a way of supporting those projects that matter most to local people.”