Parents, staff and children from Busy Bees nursery in Wandsworth recently held a special auction to raise money for their charity partner of the year, Meningitis Now.

Budding young artists at the Smuggler’s Way-based nursery and pre-school academy in Wandsworth created their very own works of art to sell to parents for the good cause.

Children spent the day using glitter, glue and paints to create colourful canvases, the proceeds of which will be donated to the worthy cause. As part of the day, parents were invited to go along to the nursery and choose their favourite canvas from the beautiful display in the reception for a small charity donation.

The Wandsworth Nursery and Pre-School Academy is one of the many Busy Bees nurseries across the country which will be raising money for Meningitis Now as part of a year-long charity partnership. The money raised will contribute to the charity’s life-saving work, including ground-breaking research projects, family support services and community awareness campaigns.

The nursery is planning a whole host of exciting fundraising activities in aid of Meningitis Now throughout the year for the local community, families and children to be a part of. The next event being held is a Parent and Child Activity Day taking place on Wednesday 22nd February, where parents and children can enjoy games in the garden, make salt dough shapes to paint and guess how many sweets are in the jar for a chance to win the contents.

Evelyn Herrera, nursery manager at Wandsworth Nursery and Pre-School Academy, said: “The children really enjoyed taking part in the arts and crafts day, where they could use a variety of materials and handle different textures to make some really colourful canvases. It was a great opportunity for the children to use their talents and have their work put on display. Our parents loved seeing the completed works on the wall of our reception and we received so many kind donations to our charity of the year.”

Meningitis is the disease most feared by parents and can strike children, teenagers and adults of all ages, quickly and with little warning. With one in ten who contract bacterial meningitis losing their life and one in three left with lifelong disabilities, knowing the symptoms and reacting quickly is crucial to saving lives.

Vaccinations against some types of meningitis are available in the UK and are offered to babies from two months old, but despite this there are still thousands of cases of meningitis in the UK every year.

Meningitis Now has been dedicated to fighting the disease for 30 years and funds vital research into the prevention of meningitis, in order to achieve a future where no one loses their life to the disease. The charity is also devoted to supporting families affected by the deadly disease and helps them to rebuild their lives.

Steve Dayman, Executive Founder of Meningitis Now, said: ‘’We are very excited about the prospect of working with Busy Bees and the opportunity it offers to inform staff and parents about the importance of knowing key meningitis signs and symptoms.

“The commitment Busy Bees are making to pilot our Meningitis Awareness Mark programme within their nurseries will act as beacon of excellence for all pre-school groups, across the UK, as it defines a clear standard of meningitis knowledge that will become the mark of assurance for parents entrusting their children in to this type of childcare. “As a charity, we receive no money from government and can only fund the work we do in research, awareness and supporting people by the generous donations we receive. To be nominated as Busy Bees’ charity of the year is a great honour and one that will, through its donations, go a long way in helping achieve these aims.’’ Each year Meningitis Now, the UK’s largest meningitis charity, reaches out to families across the UK providing crucial helpline and support services and also acts as an influential voice raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningitis.

For more information please go to https://www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk/nursery/wandsworth or contact nursery manager, Evelyn Herrera on 0208 877 1135.

Article supplied by Laura Bennett