Campaign to save children's nursery in Leeds village

Fears have been raised that ABC Daycare in Allerton Bywater may have to close its doors after 15 years due to a fall in income as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 19 staff work at ABC Daycare - a charity run by Allerton Bywater Community Partnership. Nursery manager Leighann Lowe has launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign, which has so far raised just over £2,500 towards a £5,000 target. Parents and children are also doing their own sponsored fundraising activities. Leighann's 18 month old son Albie is cared for at the nursery and her six year old daughter Amelie was previously looked after there. Leighann said: "ABC has been at the heart of our community for years, looking after most of the village children at some stage in their lives. "It would be heartbreaking to see it close. We have seen many families start in our baby room and go all through the nursery returning for out of school care. "During the initial lockdown we stayed open in order to offer support for the children of key workers and had to make some tough decisions in regards to our staff. "Sadly after this period we lost a lot of income from families who had either lost jobs due to Covid or just simply did not feel comfortable sending their children to nursery with the pandemic at its peak. "Although we are steadily increasing our numbers we are currently in a position where we are not making ends meet. "The stark reality is that if we do not manage to raise some much needed funds we will have to close our doors indefinitely. "This would have a huge impact on not only our families and staff, but also on the wider community. "We would welcome any support that could be given and are hopeful that things will improve for us as life resumes some sort of normality." Leighann added: "The amount of support we have had from parents and the community has been amazing." Click here to go to the The GoFundMe crowdfunding page.