Backing for the annual appeal came from the town’s businesses organisations, nurseries and schools, who all got involved in a variety of ways. The charity works with vulnerable children and their families in the Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex areas. They help them deal with complex, long term issues such as mental ill health, domestic abuse, debt and other finance problems. The annual Snowflake Appeal aims to increase awareness of the children in need of their help, as well as raise the funds needed to support those who need help in the future. Jacquie Thomas, fundraising and marketing manager at Home-Start said: “Our latest Snowflake Appeal has already raised over £2,000. “We are so grateful to everyone who has got involved or made donations. “Support like this from our local community can help make sure we can be there for every local child who needs us, as early as we can, so that they can have the best possible start in life. “The Big Lottery Fund has given us great financial support over the last two years, but more is needed for us to meet demand for our service. “We would love more people to get involved in supporting us, throughout the rest of the year too and we have a number of different fundraising events planned, including an amazing skydive and a fun obstacle course with Gauntlet Games.” People can help make sure vulnerable children do not have to be turned away in the future, by supporting Home-Start events throughout the year. Find out more about the charity’s work at www.homestartchams.org.uk/events