A charity in Queen’s Park has been awarded more than £22,000 by BBC Children in Need to help vulnerable children to learn how to swim.
Westminster Befriend a Family (WBAF), which provides practical and emotional support to families with newborns and children up to 18 years-old, has been given the five-figure sum to provide free swimming lessons for youngsters.
Bob Cornell, CEO of WBAF said: “There have been remarkable results from this initiative and we are proud and delighted that it has been chosen for funding by Children in Need.
“All the children benefit in terms of developing self- esteem and making friends and some also become very good swimmers. Without funding they could never have this chance.”
The charity, based in the Beethoven Centre, in Third Avenue, and Victoria, has been running the weekly swimming classes at the Porchester Centre in Bayswater for the last five years.
A pool is hired for an evening session each week during school term time, along with professional instructors who are helped by volunteers.
The BBC Children in Need currently supports 2,700 projects that are working with children and young people facing a range of disadvantages or challenges in their lives such as poverty, abuse or neglect or any kind of disability.
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