Earlier this year, we were pleased to award a £8,000 grant to YMCA Brunel Group to help with the costs of developing an all-weather outdoor area at a nursery for Army children.
Our grant was used to fund the costs of improving an outdoor children’s play area at the YMCA Little Ducklings Nursery in Lyneham, Wiltshire, which opened in 2020 in two former Ministry of Defence houses on an Army camp.
The nursery mainly serves the local Army community, including many families that can experience isolation and turbulence when serving soldiers are deployed on operations. This also affects very young children, who need regular physical exercise and access to outdoor play activities.
Sarah Clover, Special Projects Manager, YMCA Brunel Group, said:
“This will greatly benefit the families that we serve. Children’s health and welfare are our prime focuses, and playing outside enhances their mental health and wellbeing.
“Our current outdoor area was muddy and inaccessible during the wet winter months. This funding gave us a large patio for children to use all year round for a variety of activities and a safe, clean and weatherproof surface for the youngest children to play on. We are extremely grateful for the grant as it has transformed our outdoor area.”
Brigadier (Ret’d) Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, added:
“Supporting Army families is a key part of what we do; and we recognise that having appropriate childcare in place can be enormously beneficial to Service families. We were delighted to provide Sarah and her team with this grant to ensure Army children are appropriately nurtured.”
Read more about YMCA Brunel Group’s work on its website here: https://ymca-bg.org/