Hope for a Child donates £7,000 to Autism Guernsey
AUTISM Guernsey has had a portion of its essential funding donated by Hope for a Child, courtesy of The Big Summer Lottery.
The charity has been left in a precarious position after it was announced its funding from BBC Children in Need, which had supported it for eight years, was cutting its funding at the end of the year.
If sufficient funding is not found, more than 100 families could lose much-needed support from Autism Guernsey.
Chairman David Harry, who took up the role weeks before the funding was cut, said that the charity was looking at all viable options for future funding.
‘We’re very pleased to have received £7,000 from Hope for a Child because the position we are in is not good,’ he said.
‘That money will go towards our fighting funds to run the clubs running from the new year.
‘We’re in discussions with the States and that will conclude at the end of September. We’ve applied to the Community Foundation and to the Social Investment Fund.
‘We have been very pleased with the public reaction in helping us and I’m hopeful.
‘Autism is a multi-faceted condition and so we are constantly dealing with a number of children with diverse needs.
'As a result we try to tailor what we do have.’
He said that the loss of the funding brought a real focus on how the provision of services, which are available to children and adults, could be done more sustainably.
BBC Children in Need usually provided the charity with £30,000 per year, with the charity’s annual costs about £125,000.
It does not receive any funding from the States and since its inception in 2012 has relied on third sector grants, fundraising events and public donations.
‘We’re in a better position now than we were a few weeks ago – even small donations can make all the difference,’ said Mr Harry.
Autism Guernsey, currently supporting 131 children from the ages of five to 17, with another 260 parents and carers, does everything it can to showcase what living with autism can be like with its ‘lived experience’ videos on the resources page of its website, autismguernsey.org.gg.
n There is also a link to donate to the charity on its website.
