News release: 16 July, 2008
 
Local Children's Centre Wins National Community Award
Children's Centre wins Congregational Community Project Award 2008
 
Congregational & General Insurance, the national ethical insurer, has today announced that the Children's Centre in Tonge Moor, Bolton, which provides a place of worship and offers health advice and nursery provision - has won a prestigious national Community Project Award.
 
The award and prize money of £3,000 was collected by Church Leader, John Evans and Pat Oliver, Community Minister from The Centre. The award was presented by The Revd John Malcolm Marsh, Moderator of the United Reformed Church's General Assembly at a ceremony at Herriot Watt University, Edinburgh.
 
The annual awards, which are sponsored by Congregational & General Insurance in collaboration with the United Reformed Church, are now in their tenth year. Applications were invited from projects working with young people and children in the church and local community.
 
Tonge Community Centre, which incorporates a place of worship and houses its own minister, is at the heart of the local community and supports a team of midwives, nursery nurses and health workers in an area of high deprivation. In addition, it provides nursery and playgroup facilities for 800 families.
 
Open since May 2006, it has staff on hand seven days a week and aims to provide a holistic facility to bring faith into people's daily lives through a variety of mediums, including community open days, school holiday activities and services of worship.
 
John Evans, Church Leader at The Centre, said: "We are delighted to have won this award, which is reward and acknowledgment of the hard work put in by people within the community.
 
"We will use the grant to train young people about basic food hygiene, which will enable them to assist in our community café, whilst it will help fund community events such as fun days and school projects."
 
Margaret Slater, Marketing Manager at Congregational, added: "The application from Tonge Children's Centre immediately stood out. It is a very interesting project that challenges preconceptions about the role of churches in the community.
 
"This project successfully works through strong links with the local council, PCT, schools, Neighbourhood Watch and other churches nearby, whilst operating on a highly professional basis and encourages greater interaction with local people.
 
"At Congregational, we are committed to encouraging and nurturing these grassroots initiatives and through the regular giving of our Charitable Trust, and this particular award, we aim to support more projects like this across the UK."
 
Rev Martin Hazell, Director of Communications at the United Reformed Church, concluded: "These awards are designed to recognise and reward church groups who work tirelessly to provide support and facilities for their communities. Without their efforts many people in the local community would never experience the support offered by schemes such as these."
 
For more information visit www.congregational.co.uk
 
Photography - TBC
 
Notes to editors
1. Congregational & General is one of the country's most respected insurers of homes and churches with over £9 billion household assets and almost £5 billion church assets covered in the UK.
2. Based in Bradford, it is wholly-owned by a charitable trust which to date has received over £6million for disbursement through grant application to churches and other worthy causes.
3. In addition to issuing policies for nearly 7,000 places of worship of all denominations, the fastest growing area of its business today is the private homeowner. For more information visit www.shared-values.co.uk
 

Bolton News Article
 
For further information
Contact Adrian Johnson or Nick Wood in the Congregational Press Office on 0113 243 1117.
Email: adrian@lucrecommunications.com nick@lucrecommunications.com