Kids First hereford Web site

in 1999. Its primary purpose is to enable Woolworths' employees to support community-based projects of their choice to benefit children. Involvement in the scheme is voluntary with responsibility taken at a local level for each initiative.

The charity plays an important role in enabling Woolworths to be at the heart of the local communities it serves.

Woolworths Kids First aims to improve the quality of children's lives in local communities through fund raising and by offering time and expertise for the benefit of children. Since launch, over £4,500,000 has been raised and over 3,500 individual cases have benefited, from local nursery schools to hospitals and sports clubs, as well as individual children and national children's charities.

Playground Partnerships aims…

· To produce a resource that stands alone and offers practical and useful advice that is of educational value to pupils, teachers and other members of the school community.
· To empower pupils to make decisions about their school environment.
· To involve pupils in every stage of the development – from consultation, through the creative and design stages to the implementation and maintenance of the playground.
· To recognise the potential for transforming playgrounds (‘distance-travelled’) by schools as well as the absolute need of schools, i.e. the focus will not just be deprived areas.
· To offer awards amounting from £1000 to £10,000. To find out more click here

Scope of the launch in 2004
The scheme was piloted in 50 primary schools in the Kent and Essex areas in 2003. The purpose of the pilot was to ensure that when launched nationally, it is useful for teachers, motivating for pupils and of benefit to schools.

So far, over 6,000 UK primary schools have requested a resource pack to enable them to take part. The schools involved will prepare their submissions in the summer term with judging taking to enable 80 awards to be made in November 2004.

Who benefits?
To date, over 2,500 causes for children, chosen by Woolworths’ employees, have already benefited from the work of Kids First. They range from individual children, children’s hospices, Homestart schemes, schools/education establishments, users of disability aids and children’s sports clubs and teams.