A GROUP who provide support for youngsters dealing with the trauma of family members suffering from life threatening diseases has been given a cash boost by a regional builder.

Hope Support Services, who support children aged 11 upwards, received £1,000 from Persimmon Homes South Midlands as part of its Community Champions year-long project, which will see a pot of £24,000 donated to local groups and charities over 12 months throughout the region.

The service provides a range of support mechanisms including support worker sessions that offer a quiet one-to-one chat and trips with 'hope on the road' that give the youngsters a chance get away from their stressful home life and allow them to have fun without feeling guilty.

Hope Support Services CEO Clare Thomas, said: "We are delighted to be awarded this grant from Persimmon Community Champions, it will really help us to continue supporting young people when a close family member is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer. Thanks to the hard work of our Youth Management Teams (Y-Teams) who volunteer and organise fundraising events throughout the year, we are already providing our much-needed support in parts of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. With this grant we hope to reach more young people who need us in the community."

Carol Selway, head of sales at Persimmon Homes South Midlands says that the community initiative was a way of supporting people across every city, town and village where the company works, adding: "We are very proud to hand over this donation to Hope Support Services, a fantastic user led group which helps support young people through a very difficult time in their lives."

Persimmon Homes South Midlands is currently building a range of new homes across Herefordshire and Worcestershire at Chasewood View in Ross-on-Wye, Greenacres in Bishops Cleeve and Oakley Grange in Cheltenham. For more information visit persimmonhomes.com.