Helping others in reverse

Throughout December they took part in a ‘reverse’ Advent calendar – instead of getting a chocolate treat or gift each day they were encouraged to make a small donation.

This week they handed over their collection of foodstuffs, toiletries and toys to Homestart Falkirk West, based in Denny.

Lisa McConnachie, early years officer at the nursery in the town’s Glasgow Road, said: “I’d heard about the idea on social media as a way of collecting for worthy causes and thought it would be good to get the children involved.

“We have 50 three to five-year-olds in our Butterfly room and we put up posters to let the children and parents know what we were doing.”

She said there was a great response and, when they handed over the donations, the charity was delighted.

Lisa added: “It was a good way get across the message to the children that it’s important to give and help others.”

Home-Start is one of the leading family support charities in the UK.

Its volunteers help families with young children deal with the challenges they face, supporting parents as they learn to cope, improve their confidence and build better lives for their children.

Across the United Kingdom 16,000 volunteers support 30,000 families and 60,000 children to transform their lives.

There are 269 independent Home-Starts across the country.