A valued West Somerset children’s charity was given a vital lifeline from the Big Lottery Fund back in 2011.
CLOWNS was awarded £189,000 to keep their flagship double-decker playbus running over the five years thereafter.
The cash from the Reaching Communities Programme allowed CLOWNS to continue to support children and families across the district.
Speaking at the time, Kathy Morton, CLOWNS coordinator, said she and the charity’s chairwoman, Jan Ross, shed tears of joy on hearing that the project had been successful.
Match funding of £5,000 came from West Somerset Council, and Kathy said that, without this support, the application could have floundered.
She said: "We were very worried when the council decided to cut grants to local voluntary groups in December [2010], but were so relieved when they used additional government money to continue to support these groups.
"Just £5,000 has helped lever in all this grant of £189,000 over the next five years."
The charity delivered six projects, including the playbus, which wound its way to remote villages across Exmoor and West Somerset.
Kathy said the playbus provided opportunities for Early Years Education for children and was often the only chance they had to play and learn together, giving them confidence and preparing them for school.
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