Gruffalo to visit Central Link Children's Centre

Article date: 18 July 2022

A collaboration between St Helens Early Help and St Helens Library Service, the free event forms part of the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), a Department for Education-funded initiative to support families eligible for free school meals during the summer holidays.   

As well as an opportunity for families to meet the Gruffalo, there will be arts and crafts - and a special edition of read and rhyme time delivered by library staff, with lunch provided and an opportunity to join the library service to borrow a wide variety of books. 

Councillor Anthony Burns, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Culture and Heritage, said:  

"The summer holidays are upon us, and we're very much looking forward to lending our support once again to the fantastic HAF programme with a number of events, including a pop-up library featuring the Gruffalo at Central Link, which is a chance for us to take our wonderful library service on tour into our communities to showcase the inspiring work staff are doing to help parents and carers bond with their children.  

"Of course, this is just one fine example of the projects St Helens Library Service are leading on over summer, with the Festival of Imagination taking place this week - and the Summer Reading Challenge making a return. There's so much happening in libraries, so I'd encourage families to check out what's on offer over the summer." 

Councillor Nova Charlton, St Helens Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "Programmes like HAF are a lifesaver for families in our borough, many of whom are working households that have fallen on hard times, not helped by the rise in cost of living and energy.

"Activities like this one have been designed to cater for the needs and interests of children and young, with each session either including a healthy breakfast, lunch, or evening meal, ensuring no child goes hungry. 

"One of our key priorities is to ensure children and young people have a positive start in life and programmes like this play a big part in achieving this. That's why I'd encourage eligible families to register and discover all the fun to be had."         

 The event will take place between 1:00pm-3:00pm on Monday 25 July. To book a place, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pop-up-library-meet-the-gruffalo-crafts-storytime-including-lunch-tickets-375146361867?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 

For more information of HAF, visit: https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/4060/Holiday-activities-and-food-programme 

To find out what's happening in libraries across St Helens Borough, visit https://sthlibrarieswp.koha-ptfs.co.uk/whats-on/