Northampton charity ‘applauded’ for community impact at celebration event to bring everyone together

The Spring Charity, which aims to help people in the NN1 area to thrive, offers vital community services to improve wellbeing and outcomes in life – particularly for vulnerable families with children under the age of five in the Castle ward.

It is key to get these children into education at the age of four, as the team believes it makes them less likely to disengage from the system as years go by.

The Spring Charity hosted its annual celebration event last Thursday (May 15), which highlighted the amazing provision on offer and the charity’s latest impact report from the past year.

Charity manager Tracey Hamilton told the Chronicle & Echo: “It was really successful. We had the chance to share our annual impact report, which is a really important thing.

“As we’re self-funded through grants and donations, people need to know their money is being spent well and having a high quality impact.”

Certificates were handed out to dedicated volunteers and charity champions, which included JAM winning the inaugural charity champions trophy for going above and beyond in their support and fundraising.

Circus skill sessions were offered to the children in attendance, as well as a buffet for the families, and the get-together gave everyone the opportunity to share their stories.

Tracey wanted to issue a special thanks to the two chairs of trustees Duncan McAlpine and Jill Spidy. Jill started the charity, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, and Duncan has been involved in the Spring Boroughs community for more than four decades.

Duncan is the former headteacher of Spring Lane Primary School and some who were pupils at that time are now parents and among the families that the charity assists.

With 20 families and an additional 25 guests in attendance, Tracey said: “The feedback was phenomenal and a few people made me cry.”

One parent said she “cannot applaud the charity enough for all they do for the community”, and another praised it as the “best family charity” which she has benefited from for the past six years. She said they go above and beyond to put smiles on people’s faces.

“Our community is struggling at the moment and the financial crisis has not eased up,” said Tracey. “Without our charity, some would struggle to feed their children and provide the basics.

“We are blown away with the way the community has come together. We’ve become the hub of the community and the first place people come to.”

Looking to the next year for The Spring Charity, Tracey would like to improve their provision for school readiness. Though there is limited funding available, the charity manager is determined to make this happen.

The Spring Charity would also like to host after school sessions for whole families over a longer term, which will get older children involved too. Tracey hopes this will help with behaviour management and issues with food poverty moving forward.

For more information on The Spring Charity, visit their website here.