Keighley charity to appear on TV's Songs of Praise (From Keighley News)
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Keighley charity to appear on TV's Songs of Praise
6:00pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Keighley By Chris Young
Lan Chen, Elaine Cluett, Caixia Yu and Hannah Green at the Lilies of the Valley project, which will feature in Songs of Praise
A Keighley charity has been chosen to make an appearance on the Mother’s Day special of popular BBC TV series Songs of Praise.
Lilies of the Valley, based at Cavendish Street, was chosen because of its years of work helping mothers in the town, including those living below the poverty line and new arrivals to the country.
Its segment on the show will highlight how the charity helps teach basic English skills and offers a place to socialise that doesn’t cost anything.
Set up in 2009 by members of various churches around Keighley, it acts as a drop-in centre for people in the community who feel isolated.
The charity is particularly popular with mothers, as it offers a place for children to play while their parents enjoy a coffee and chat. As well as offering classes on money management and healthy eating, staff also signpost people to other organisations if they need help.
Volunteer Abigail Curtis said: “We got a call out of the blue from the BBC asking if they could come down and film one of our groups.
“A lot of the people are living below the poverty line, and we give them a place to go. We have basic English lessons – we are not trying to replace what colleges do, but teach them enough to get by in places like the supermarket.
“I hope it raises some awareness of the group, and maybe some other mums will come down, or it will attract some more volunteers or funding.”
The BBC preview of the show says: “This special programme celebrates motherhood and features the Keighley-based charity, Lilies of the Valley.
“Its founder, Lucinda Smith, explains to the programme how she wanted to reach out to any mothers in the area who were finding life difficult. The programme visits Lilies of the Valley’s drop-in centre, No 72, and meets some of the women who go there regularly for coffee, cakes and classes in English as a foreign language.”
The show will be screened on Sunday at 5.30pm on BBC1.
