Treasure Chest, a York based not-for-profit organisation that supports new parents in all aspects of breastfeeding, has received a £2,500 donation from the Pavers Foundation. Tom Healey from Pavers Head Office in York applied for the grant.
Services on offer through Treasure Chest include free antenatal classes and workshops and in person and online support groups, they also offer training to volunteers who want to become peer support workers. Peer support volunteers are placed in the maternity ward at York Hospital and work closely with new families in the early days of breastfeeding. Treasure Chest want to understand the needs and concerns of service users, while helping them feel reassured and empowered to succeed in their breastfeeding journey. On average Treasure Chest help 587 families per year, an incredible impact from a small volunteer run charity.
Kath Weston, a Trustee at Treasure Chest, thanked the Pavers Foundation for the donation and said; “This is a significant sum for us and will help us develop the charity so that we can sustain our services and reach more families”. The charity also has aims to boost visibility with upgrades to the website and new awareness campaigns which will make finding and accessing their services even easier.
Tom chose to support Treasure Chest as he has witnessed the organisations impact not only through his own partner but also through some of his close friends. On the support they received Tom said, “Treasure chest provides practical evidence-based support along with emotional guidance and a sense of community that has helped some of the people I’m closest to nurture their children and feel better about themselves during an incredibly intense part of their lives.”