A £10,000 cheque means a happy birthday the Leigh AGAPE group - celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.

And the money also means a full-time organiser can now be appointed at Higher Folds Community Centre where AGAPE and other groups meet. And it assures them of a secure future.

The money was donated by the Lloyds-TSB Foundation, and it comes as a welcome relief by the group which shares the building with a number of community organisations on the once deprived Leigh estate.

Started 10 years ago by founder-members Margaret Catterall (Co-ordinator), Jackie White (secretary) and Barbara Smith, a qualified nurse who runs the creche with her assistants Alana Evand and Susan Lardner, AGAPE has grown from a small core of an essential part of the Higher Folds community.

It has helped put a steadying influence on the estate once infamous for its lack of community spirit and totally transformed over the past few years.

Started with a budget of only £64 and only five interested mums, AGAPE now commands respect locally for its activities and has a budget of around £1,300 a year.

Margaret Catterall said: "We have had many joys and encouragements as well as many disappointments and problems over the years.

"When we first came here many of the houses were boarded up around the centre, there was no mother and baby provision, no opportunity to attend a class, nowhere families could receive support or socialise.

"We came as a group of Christians with child care skills and with very little money but supported by some of the churches in Leigh in the hope that we could provide family support.

"Many mums and dads have attended this group over the years and we have felt privileged to share both their problems and their joys. To us they have become like an extended family and when they move on as children start school we continue to be interested and concerned about them.

"We hope that we have been able to make some difference in their lives and helped the children to have the best possible start at school."

The cheque will be handed over to the community centre's steering group and the new centre organiser is expected to be appointed by December.

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