Trowbridge special needs nursery says thanks to all as appeal hits £10,000 target

A generous £2,000 donation from the League of Friends of Westbury has taken the total to £10,504.

The campaign launched just six weeks ago after Stepping Stones, which serves west Wiltshire children with learning difficulties and disabilities, lost £10,000 of funding from Wiltshire Council, after central government withdrew its Aiming High For Disabled Children grants.

The charity, based in Broadcloth Lane, needs to raise £50,000 a year to survive and in response the Times started the campaign.

Manager Debbie Wickham said: “I’d like to say a special thanks to the Wiltshire Times who recognised the need to protect what we do.

"Thanks to the public also as all the publicity in the world has no value unless it connects with people and inspires them to make donations which this has.”

The League of Friends of Westbury saw the coverage and felt compelled to support the campaign.

Erica Watson, vice chairman, said: “We know that Stepping Stones supports children from Westbury and from reading about the work it does we felt it was a really good cause to support.”

As well as donations, Stepping Stones, has been overwhelmed by people offering to hold fundraisers for them so they’ve set up a group to help arrange them.

Mrs Wickham hopes the fundraising committee fill be a legacy of the campaign and help them generate income for years to come.

She said: “Stepping Stones only remains because of the generosity of local people and I never cease to be amazed by their efforts. My highlight has been the notes we’ve received from parents, who formerly used the service years ago, wanting to tell us how much of a difference it has made to their child’s life.”

Because of the fantastic response, the Times is continuing the Give Us a Chance appeal and wants to raise as much as possible for Stepping Stones.

Call 01225 350004 or email barbara@steppingstones.

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