A CHARITY dedicated to giving children with Down’s syndrome the best start in life is appealing for votes as it strives for nationwide recognition.

The Education Centre for Children with Down Syndrome (Eccds), based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has beaten off competition from more than 600 other organisations to reach the public voting stage of this year’s National Lottery Awards.

The annual awards ceremony celebrates the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects and will be broadcast on BBC One in September.

Eccds is competing against six other projects in the education category with Learning for Life, a lottery-funded scheme which has allowed the charity to expand its services and support more children with Down’s syndrome in the region.

Winners of the seven categories will receive a £2,000 cash prize and a National Lottery Awards trophy, as well as getting to attend a star-studded ceremony hosted by television presenter and actor John Barrowman.

Maggie Hart, founder and director of Eccds, said it would be “phenomenal” to receive national recognition for the hard work staff, volunteers and supporters have put in over the years.

“We're delighted to have reached the finals of The National Lottery Awards,” she said. “National Lottery funding has helped us to brighten the lives of young people with Down’s syndrome and their families.

“We are calling on all our supporters and local people to vote for us to be named the UK’s Best Education project. It would be a fantastic reward for everyone involved in the project to receive national recognition for their hard work and life-changing achievements.”

The mother-of-three, whose son Alex has Down’s syndrome, launched Eccds in 2005 after she struggled to find support in the area.

Since then, the charity has grown from a family-run operation to a specialist education centre with its own offices, thanks to £250,000 of Lottery funding and grants from other donors including the NSPCC,

It now delivers weekly and fortnightly educational development group sessions in Newton Aycliffe, Prudhoe and Hexham and supports more than 80 children.

To vote for Eccds’ Learning for Life project, visit lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or call 0844 836 9687 before midnight on Monday, July 29.

For more information about Eccds visit eccds.org.uk