PUBLICANS and Morris Dancers have come on board to help HomeStart Wey-Water achieve a fundraising target of at least £10,000 before the end of January.

If the charity is successful it could be eligible to gain maximum benefit from an unexpected Christmas offer by the Four Acres Trust, which has promised to match fund every donation of more than £500 received throughout the months of November, December and January, up to £10,000.

The only catch is that these donations must come from new sources.

While well on their way to achieving their objective, HomeStart Wey-Water trustees are busy thinking of new ways of attracting support for the work the organisation does in helping families in the Alton, Bordon and Liphook area who are finding it difficult to cope.

An independent charity whose volunteers are trained to offer friendship and support to struggling parents with a least one child under the age of five, the aim is “to provide a valuable, and practical, support service that makes a real difference to family life”, helping as a result to prevent family crisis and breakdown.

In addition, the group organises fun days out and other seasonal events and so offers opportunities for families and volunteers to meet each other.

While focused locally, HomeStart Wey-Water retains it links with other Home-Start schemes and is managed by a board of trustees which ensures that the organisation is operating within its constitution and to standards and methods of practice laid down by Home-Start UK.

As the scheme is independent it is responsible for raising the £80,000 per year needed to provide the service. Money raised goes toward the core funding of the scheme, or specific one-off projects. For example, to recruit, train and support a volunteer through their first year of volunteering costs £1,500.

In the past funding has come from many different sources including local authorities, local councillors, The Army Central Fund, and local groups such as the Lions and Rotary clubs. Another major source of funding has been via The Big Lottery and Children in Need, however this avenue appears to have dried up, and HomeStart Wey-Water has found itself having to become more reliant on its own fundraising efforts.

The Four Acres Trust offer has come at an opportune time for the charity.

A HomeStart Wey-Water spokesman said: “This is a fantastic chance for us as these funds will enable Home-Start WeyWater to train new volunteers and to continue to support local families with their emotional and practical needs.”

While the total match funding is up to £10,000, the Four Acres Trust will not consider funds raised by fundraising events such as coffee mornings or bag packing, nor those raised by sponsored events such as marathons or sponsored swims.

The Four Acres Trust has supported other Home-Start groups in the past, and the Wey-Water group was sent the application details and criteria by HomeStartUK. Having submitted financial accounts, its application was successful.

The spokesman added: “This is a real window of opportunity for us to generate core funds and attract new sponsors.”

As such, Home-Start WeyWater, which is also Alton mayor Matthew Bayliss’ charity of the year, is appealing to anyone who could help the organisation by making a donation.

There is a request also to pass on the details of business contacts who may be able to offer some support.

Already on board, on Wednesday last week, HomeStart Wey-Water chairman Andrea Poston was at The George pub in Alton to pick up a cheque for £500 from Alton Morris, and to kick-start an initiative, led by landlady Susannah Stredder, who is challenging fellow publicans in Alton to help raise £500 by the end of January to support the appeal.