Belfast Nursery Awarded £20,000 by Nick Jr. UK's "Help Dora Help" Campaign

A bit more about Belfast's 'Hope Nursery' being awarded £20,000 by Nick Jr. UK and Ireland's "Help Dora Help Campaign" from Animation World Network, via a Nickelodeon UK and Ireland Press Release/Nick Jr. Channel UK and Ireland Press Release:

Belfast Nursery Awarded £20,000 by Nick Jr.’s Help Dora Help Campaign

Press Release from Nick Jr.

Nick Jr., Nickelodeon’s award winning pre-school channel, today announces that Hope Nursery School in Belfast will receive £20,000 funding, as they drew the greatest number of public votes in the channel’s nationwide social responsibility campaign Help Dora Help.

Help Dora Help launched in May, supported by The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts. The campaign encourages pre-schoolers to learn through exploration. One in five UK nurseries/pre schools registered for a free activity pack and were invited to apply for the grant, by explaining how the nursery would benefit and designing a Dora themed backpack. Five nurseries were selected as finalists by Nick Jr.’s expert judging panel and the ultimate winner was decided by public vote.

Hope Nursery submitted a compelling case, stating their intention to use funds to enhance the landscape of their outdoor play area and build new play facilities allowing children to engage in creative, physical and imaginative play.

Julianne Fleming, Nursery Teacher at Hope Nursery School, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this generous funding. The children, staff and parents embraced the challenge and it’s brought the community together too. We worked hard to create a real buzz around the nursery being shortlisted and it’s obviously paid off with so many people voting for us. The money will be so well spent here and we look forward to putting our plans into action.”

Tracey Seawright, a Parent at Hope Nursery, said: “The staff and children of Hope fully deserve the number one slot in this competition! The win has been celebrated throughout the whole community so in effect this was not just a win for Hope Nursery but a win for the Shankill, Belfast and beyond.”

Tina McCann, MD Nickelodeon UK, said: “We’re delighted that Hope Nursery have been chosen to receive the Help Dora Help award fund, they are worthy winners. From the start of the campaign our aim was to encourage pre-schoolers to explore their worlds, so in addition to making a difference to Hope Nursery, we’re also proud to have worked with so many nurseries and pre-schools across the UK to encourage a sense of adventure in pre-schoolers.”

Jeremy Newton, Chief Executive of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts said: “Hope Nursery’s bid was a very compelling and creative proposal and represented an area that will significantly benefit from the award fund. So we are thrilled they will be able to use the funding to enhance their children’s early learning experiences and development.”

Hope Nursery received 4343 votes from a total of 11561 which was a majority of 38%. The shortlisted finalists were Alfriston Pre-School, East Sussex, England. Beaufort Hill Nursery, Gwent, Wales. Bradford Academy, Yorkshire, England, Hope Nursery School, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Overtown Community Nursery, Wisham, Scotland.

About Hope Nursery School
Hope Nursery School is situated in the Shankill area of North Belfast. It was built in 1976 and welcomes children from the immediate community and beyond. It is a modern double unit school with 52 children attending. Hope provides a happy and relaxed atmosphere where children can learn at their own pace through fun, inviting play opportunities. Prospective parents are welcome to contact the Nursery on Tel: 028 90 323 185 /Email hopenurseryschool@hotmail.com or visit during the open day on Tuesday 13th December at 2pm.

About Nick Jr. UK:
Nick Jr. is the number one commercial pre-school TV channel. Launched by Nickelodeon UK in 1999, it was the world's first channel dedicated to pre-school children and broadcasts hit shows including Dora the Explorer, Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, Max and Ruby and Humf. In 2009 it won BAFTA children’s channel of the year. With its sister channel Nick Jr2, it is the most popular commercial pre-school entertainment brand in cable and satellite homes. Launched in 1993, Nickelodeon UK comprises seven dedicated award-winning entertainment channels for kids aged 2-12. The Nickelodeon Network is a top performing commercial kids TV network in the UK and the Nickelodeon channels are available in over 14 million cable and satellite homes.

About The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts:
The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts is an educational charity which champions the power of the arts to transform and enrich the lives of disadvantaged children across the UK. The charity’s projects have helped to create long-term partnerships between arts organisations and their local schools. Two core programmes, Start and Quests both highlight the potential of learning outside the classroom, enabling children to visit their local cultural venue to work with professional artists, and then developing this experience through class-based projects and activities. Since 2006 the charity has worked with over 100,000 children and hopes to substantially increase this figure in the next few. For more info please visit www.childrenandarts.org.uk

Also, from the Belfast Telegraph:

Nursery gets its Hopes up and nets £20,000 award

Hope Nursery School, on the Shankill Road, will receive £20,000 funding from Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. having received the greatest number of public votes in the channel’s nationwide social responsibility campaign Help Dora Help.

Help Dora Help, which was launched in May, encourages pre-schoolers to learn through exploration and is supported by The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.

Five nurseries were selected from a host of entrants as finalists by Nick Jr.’s expert judging panel and the ultimate winner was decided by public vote.

Hope Nursery submitted a compelling case, stating their intention to use funds to enhance the landscape of their outdoor play area and build new play facilities allowing children to engage in creative, physical and imaginative play.

Julianne Fleming, Nursery Teacher at Hope Nursery School, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this generous funding.

“The children, staff and parents embraced the challenge and it’s brought the community together too.

“We worked hard to create a real buzz around the nursery being shortlisted and it’s obviously paid off with so many people voting for us.

“The money will be so well spent here and we look forward to putting our plans into action.”

Tracey Seawright, a Parent at Hope Nursery, said: “The staff and children of Hope fully deserve the number one slot in this competition!

“The win has been celebrated throughout the whole community so in effect this was not just a win for Hope Nursery but a win for the Shankill, Belfast and beyond.”

Tina McCann, MD Nickelodeon UK, said: “From the start of the campaign our aim was to encourage pre-schoolers to explore their worlds, so in addition to making a difference to Hope Nursery, we’re also proud to have worked with so many nurseries and pre-schools across the UK to encourage a sense of adventure in pre-schoolers.”

Jeremy Newton, Chief Executive of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, said: “Hope Nursery’s bid was a very compelling and creative proposal and represented an area that will significantly benefit from the award fund.

“So we are thrilled they will be able to use the funding to enhance their children’s early learning experiences and development.”