Founders of support group for SEND mothers raise £1,500 by completing sponsored Brecon Beacons hike

Northants SEND Mummas was founded by Shumi Syed and Emma Briggs in spring last year, after they merged their two separate groups operating from different areas of the county.

The pair soon became friends after establishing their shared values and aspirations, which is when they decided to join forces to have a greater positive impact.

Shumi described Northants SEND Mummas as a peer support group for mothers and female carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Their focus is on the wellbeing of mothers and offering inclusive family events, in which fathers, partners and children are also welcome to join.

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo having raised £1,539 off the back of their latest sponsored hike, Emma said: “It is absolutely amazing and we cannot believe it.

“We had a target of £1,000 and we didn’t think we would get to that. We’re really happy and it’s a really good achievement. The money will help us so much.”

The pair had not done a walk like this before, and Emma admitted they both felt “nervous and anxious” ahead of setting off.

“This will make a massive difference,” Emma continued. “All the events we do, we try to subsidise as much as we can. Affordable group activities help us help families and get out there more. We want to expand across Northamptonshire.”

Emma wanted to issue a massive thanks to those who made a donation or showed their support during this challenge, which took around six-and-a-half hours to complete. The pair say it was worth it for what they have achieved.

She said: “This was strenuous for our first but we wanted to make it a difficult challenge for ourselves. It is definitely one of the hardest things I have ever done and the encouragement made it worthwhile.”

As well as their exciting community festival on July 12 at Rectory Farm, Northants SEND Mummas look forward to introducing their ‘stay and play’ at Semilong Community Centre during the summer holidays.

For more information and to join Northants SEND Mummas, visit the group’s Facebook page here.