A MORAY GROUP is celebrating a £10,000 funding boost this week after it was named as a recipient in the final round of a £6million Big Lottery and Scottish Government package.

The Step by Step parent/toddler group caters for isolated and vulnerable families who have youngsters under three years of age.

The Moray group were named as a recipient in a total of £511,412 granted under the Communities and Family fund, set up in 2012 and which has handed out £6million to 753 grassroots projects throughout Scotland.

Maureen McGinn, who chairs the Big Lottery Fund Scotland Committee, said: “Since its launch in May 2012 the Communities and Families Fund has helped to give Scotland’s next generation the best start in life.

“Over the past four years the programme has supported a wide range of activities in each of the country’s 32 local authorities, showing how small amounts of funding can often make the biggest difference.

“Each of the 753 groups funded by Communities and Families have put children and their needs at the very heart of their work, creating a legacy of which we are proud to have been a part.”

Step by Step chairwoman Nancy Robson said that the funding will help the group get off the ground, explaining that theirs was a “befriending” charity for parents and children in Moray.

She said: “We want to help youngsters develop skills that will enhance their lives.

“We can do more than that now, with a healthy eating worker offering ideas to improve families’ health and wellbeing.”

The Communities and Families Fund had a budget of £4.5 million from The Scottish Government and £1.5 million from the Big Lottery Fund.