SIR, East Cumbria Family Support Association is a local voluntary group which offers confidential support and practical help to families with pre-school children who are experiencing disadvantage, difficulty or distress.

We work through a network of trained volunteers who visit families in their own homes, offering friendship and a listening ear.

We already have an established group of longstanding volunteers helping to support over 70 families, nearly 400 people.

Due to the increasing demand from families and the continuing expansion of our project, we are keen to recruit more volunteers in the Shap, Tebay and Appleby areas, to enable us to help even more families.

Our volunteers work with families in a wide variety of ways, depending on their individual needs.

As a volunteer you might help a parent who is new to the area join in with community activities, provide respite care for a parent with a disabled child, help families keep important appointments, give practical help to new parents of twins or simply provide a listening ear.

We are planning to run a training course for new volunteers in June which will cover a wide range of topics including child development and age-related play, listening skills, child safety and health, communication and confidentiality, first aid and child protection.

Women and men, of all ages and from all walks of life, who have experience of family life or who have worked with children, are welcome to join us as volunteers.

Anyone with children of their own can appreciate that there are times when the pressures of family life can become too much to cope with alone.

Families who are under stress might have no close friends or family nearby to turn to, and small problems can soon become major ones.

You could make a real difference to a local family by joining us as a volunteer.

If you have a little time to spare each week, an interest in the wellbeing of families and would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer with East Cumbria Family Support Association, please contact Sarah Faill on 01768-242145.

Jenny Smith

East Cumbria Family Support Association, Penrith

Help hidden victims of child cruelty

SIR, Readers may have seen the recent NSPCC FULL STOP public education campaign asking people to take more action to help the hidden victims of child cruelty.

A new TV ad shows a cartoon child 'bouncing back' from abuse until he turns into a real child lying motionless on the floor.

The ad asks people to do something if they think a child is being abused and urges them to call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 if unsure what to do.

The NSPCC is hoping to put up posters based on the ad in every corner shop in the country - taking the campaign right into the heart of local communities.

Posters will also go up in cinemas, community centres and doctors' surgeries.

As a local resident I would like to ask people to support this important campaign by getting hold of some posters and putting them up where other local people will see them.

They are available from the NSPCC posterline on 0800 068 8844.

Together, step-by-step, we can end cruelty to children - full stop.

Thomas Noblett

Langdale Chase,

Windermere