Museum's plans for new accessible play area gets £10,000 boost

Woodhorn Museum has received £10,000 towards its plans to create an accessible play area.

Museums Northumberland has been named as one of 301 charities set to receive £10,000 as part of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group’s annual Movement for Good awards.

The funding will allow the charity – which supports learning, research and education through access to heritage, arts, culture and museum collections – to kick-start its new project, Woodhorn Accessible Play.

The play area will be an extension to the existing outdoor area which will introduce new accessible and inclusive play equipment for children with a range of additional needs and disabilities.

Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “At Ecclesiastical we believe business should be a force for good.

"Charitable causes need sustained support and a sense of financial stability.

"Through the second phase of our Movement for Good awards we are actively championing innovation, giving charities the backing they need to propel their plans forward and turn creative ideas into practical solutions that benefit society.

"We know that £10,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.

“Ecclesiastical, the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK, is a unique financial services group.

"We are owned by a charity which means all available profits can be given to the good causes that are so important to our customers.

"As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, charitable giving is at the heart of our business.”

Rowan Brown, Chief Executive of Museums Northumberland, said: “The generous donation from Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good awards has helped us to raise the funding needed to expand the existing play area at Woodhorn Museum to include more accessible and inclusive play equipment.

"It will mean children of all ages and abilities can enjoy visiting our museum and learning about Northumberland's mining heritage.”

For the third year running, the awards, set up by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, will see a total of £1million go to charities across the UK.

A total of 500 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated in the first round, each awarded £1,000.

Phase two saw over 1,000 project submissions for the £10,000 awards, with 30 winning projects selected.