Parents who were devastated that their free local soft play group was being forced to close have been offered a glimmer of hope as they receive funding that could mean they can stay open.
Last month, Riverside Softplay – based at Salmon Youth Centre in Bermondsey – told the News it was being forced to close after losing their funding.
The soft play group is run by Riverside Parents & Carers association and is a free place for kids under five to play twice a week. It is attended by hundreds of kids and their parents every month.
Exclusive: Parents left devastated as local free play group is forced to close
The Bermondsey Children’s Centre – which is funded by Southwark Council – had been funding the play group for the last sixteen years, but in June they informed them they would no longer be doing so.
“After losing our funding in September, we have been running our free soft play sessions on our reserves while waiting for a local fund application to come through,” said the manager at Riverside Softplay.
Last week, the group made their case to Southwark Council after their plight was highlighted by the News and have been granted a one-off donation of £23,700 from them, meaning they can stay open ‘for now.’
“We have received some of emergency funds from Southwark Council to re-open Soft Play from January. The council said they can see clearly the impact this has on the community.”
The money will last until June, and in the meantime Community Southwark are helping to secure them a more permanent source of funding, through local businesses and charities.
“But for now, we are staying open!”
They have also set up a crowdfunding page.
“Because we used up all our reserves to stay open until November – we have now made a crowdfunding page to raise those back, in case it takes longer to get funding.”
Donations are already flooding in, including one from an anonymous source for £1,000.
Cllr Jasmine Ali, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Education, said: “We always try to help where we can when an issue is brought to our attention.
“In this case, I’m delighted that urgent financial support from the council will help the Riverside Parents and Carers Association keep the play group open while they work with Community Southwark to get themselves onto a sustainable footing.
“We are incredibly grateful for all that they do for and with families in Southwark.”
An advent calendar of disruption – Southwark strikes over Christmas
The manager at Riverside Softplay said she’s feeling ‘very good and positive.’
This week, the group were able to throw a Christmas party for the families – complete with a surprise visit from Santa.
“Team London bridge donated one hundred gifts of toys for the children, individually wrapped and labelled. And the Salmon Centre offered the space for free for us to have the party.”
“Despite all the bad news, we’ve really finished the year on a high.
“These acts of kindness have showed me people really care,” she added.
Click HERE to donate to their crowdfunding page.