MORE than £20,000 has been raised to provide activities and wellbeing support across local villages.

The Prout Bridge Project was able to raise its £20,000 target to buy, kit out and staff an outreach vehicle - so that it can flexibly provide activities and support within Beaminster and surrounding villages.

The Crowdfunder, an 'all or nothing' campaign - meaning that if the group was unable to reach their £20,000 target they wouldn't have received a penny - raised £14,000 within a week, and reached £20,000 within three weeks.

The idea behind the campaign is to offer play and social reconnection for children and young people in the area, provide support and information with issues such as bullying, anxiety and low confidence and help people of all ages get back to health with sports and fitness activities. In addition to this, the team would use the vehicle to extend the reach of Beaminster Food Bank by delivering essential supplies to households in need who are unable to get to Beaminster for collection and to offer advice services to help people build back after Covid, including a regular job club and Citizen’s Advice drop-ins.

Paula Tuff, manager of the Prout Bridge Project, said: “It’s brilliant, the support we’ve had from members of the public has been incredible, it’s so lovely knowing that the support is there.

"I’m amazed how quickly we were able to raise the funds. When you do something like this you don’t know how much support you will receive – but it’s so great that people value what we are offering.

"The trustees and staff have been incredible – they’ve all been working so hard to promote and push the CrowdFunder. I couldn’t have even considered doing it without the support of everyone around me."

The group now looks toward their stretch budget of £25,000 - which would help fund staffing costs going forward.

Ms Tuff added: “It’s amazing we have enough money for the bus and what we want to do – but having the ability to run a stretch fund is great.

“Staffing costs are always difficult to find and not easy to get granting funding for. Another member of staff would make it so much more accessible for the community who want to use the service.

"It is a free service and we do have to fund it in some way. We don’t want to have to charge for what we offer so to be able to find that money would be great."

The Crowdfunder will run until this Friday, April 30. The group will then look towards finding a suitable vehicle and getting it up and running. The aim is for the vehicle to be out in Beaminster and the surrounding areas throughout the May half-term.

To donate to the campaign, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/PBPReachingOut.