Home-Start Arun, Worthing & Adur honoured with High Sheriff’s Award
Home-Start Arun, Worthing & Adur is delighted to receive a prestigious award from the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Mrs Philippa Gogarty, in recognition of its outstanding and valuable service to the community. The award reflects the appreciation of local residents for the charity’s dedication to enhancing the lives of families in need. She also awarded the charity with a donation of £1000 toward their 2025 fundraising appeal, ‘25 volunteers for 25 years’.
In 2025, Home-Start Arun, Worthing & Adur proudly celebrates 25 years of supporting families facing difficult circumstances, including poor mental or physical health, bereavement, domestic abuse, loneliness, and lone parenting.
Over the past quarter-century, the charity’s dedicated volunteers have positively impacted the home environments and life chances of 9,500 local children through their family support services.
Bridget Richardson, CEO of Home-Start Arun, Worthing & Adur, expressed both gratitude and reflection on receiving the award:
“We are honoured to be recognised for our work. While it is deeply concerning that the challenges families face today are as severe—if not more so—than they were 25 years ago, we are proud that our charity continues to provide vital support to young families facing difficult times, thanks to the support of our incredible community.”
As part of its 25th-anniversary celebrations, the charity has launched an appeal to recruit 25 new volunteers in 2025, aiming to support over 100 additional children. Richardson highlights the urgency of this campaign:
“Like many charities, we have seen a decline in volunteer numbers since the pandemic. Recruiting 25 new volunteers will not only restore our numbers to pre-pandemic levels but allow us to extend our support to more families in need. Any donation to our appeal will help transform the lives of these vulnerable children, and we encourage anyone wishing to donate or interested in volunteering to visit our website.”
Just £10 will go towards providing vital safeguarding training so a volunteer can visit family homes with confidence.
All that is required to volunteer for Home-Start is experience as a parent, grandparent, or in working with children. Volunteers must complete online training alongside two half-days of in-person training and are asked to commit 2-3 hours per week.
To donate to their ‘25 volunteers for 25 years’ appeal or to explore volunteering opportunities, visit www.home-startawa.org.uk.