Families set to benefit from Norman Family Trust grant

More than 200 families across Devon and Cornwall will benefit from a grant made to an Exeter-based national charity by The Norman Family Charitable Trust.

National Family Mediation, based in Exeter, whose mission is to help parents who live apart stay close to their children, has been awarded £1,000 by the Trust. It will help ensure families across the south west become more aware of their options to find quick, cheap and effective long-term solutions that are in the interests of their children when they are separating or divorcing.

“This generous grant can help ensure a brighter future at a bleak time for hundreds of parents and children across Devon and Cornwall,” says Jane Robey, Chief Executive Officer of National Family Mediation.

“Although the mindset of separating and divorcing couples is usually to head straight to court, family mediation is quicker and less confrontational. The solutions it coffers are in the best interests of children and families, and allow families to keep more control of their own destiny, instead of handing it over to judges.

“Separating or divorcing families in in rural communities often have different needs to those in cities. Frequently one parent moves away from a rural area after divorce in search of work or suitable accommodation, or to start again. This can be very challenging for parents who want to continue to play a meaningful role in their children’s lives despite the separation."

The Norman Family founded a chain of Cash & Carry Warehouses that started in Budleigh Salterton in 1959. By 1979 there were nine branches throughout the south west. When the business was sold due to approaching retirement some of the proceeds from the sale were used to set up The Norman Family Charitable Trust in 1979. The intention was to repay the loyal customers from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset who had helped to make the business such a success, through making grants to good causes, primarily for the benefit of those areas.

National Family Mediation is the largest provider of family mediation services in England and Wales, with a network providing mediation in over 500 locations.