Help Dora Help 2012 finalists - vote now!

You might remember I blogged about the "Help Dora Help" competition when the call for entries was open, well now there are 5 finalists and it's voting time!

The closest one to Bromley is the Parkfield Children’s Centre, West Hendon, London - the London borough of Bromley has been my home for 12 years but I'm a born and bred Lancashire lass and there are TWO Lancashire finalists!

Please take a moment to vote - this is a fantastic award for the wining nursery and a fantastic opportunity for the education of those children.

FINALISTS SELECTED FOR HELP DORA HELP
Public to Decide Which Entry will Receive £20,000 Award
Five nurseries selected from submissions from across The UK have been chosen as the finalists for Nick Jr.’s Help Dora Help Campaign. The initiative is supported by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts and is designed to support nurseries, preschools and children’s centres in their educational curriculum. Almost 300 nurseries and preschools submitted an entry to this year’s campaign with applicants from Cumbria, Derbyshire, London and Lancashire elected as finalists. The winner will be decided by members of the public that vote at nickjr.co.uk/helpdorahelp.
“The quality of entries for Help Dora Help was extraordinary and gave a great picture of the areas of educational interest across UK preschools,” said Helena Dowling, Nick Jr., presenter and Help Dora Help judge. “With funding required for things such buying a minibus to creating a mini beast learning zone, the finalists each demonstrate a desire to offer more educational opportunities for their pupils. I am looking forward to seeing which entry the public chooses to receive the award.”
Voting is now open to decide which of the finalist will receive the award. Voting is open to anyone within the UK and voters can take a look at all five finalists and learn more about their submission at nickjr.co.uk/helpdorahelp. Voting is open until 2nd November with the winner of the award announced on 19th November.
Inspired by the adventurous spirit of Dora, Help Dora Help seeks to encourage support education, development and exploration in the pre-school environment. The five finalists for this year’s campaign are:
Greystoke Under 5’s, Greystoke, Cumbria - The rural volunteer playgroup would use the award to revamp their outdoor play area as well as their kitchen.
Oakmount Day Nursery, Preston, Lancashire - The nursery would use the award to purchase a minibus, ideally equipped with exploratory items such as a metal detector and telescope.
The Old Forge Day Nursery, Findern, Derbyshire – The nursery would use the award to build a log cabin with sensory room, a library and dance studio.
Parkfield Children’s Centre, West Hendon, London – The Children’s Centre would develop their Early Years playground to reflect various countries, cultures, seasons and festivals.
Walton Lane Nursery School & Children’s Centre, Nelson, Lancashire - The Centre would create a bug hotel so that children could increase their knowledge of mini beasts.
An expert panel led by Nick Jr.’s Wake Up World Helena Dowling, alongside Nick Jr. representatives and partners including The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, Dora Magazine and Chad Valley chose the five finalists with each finalist awarded discovery and learning equipment from Chad Valley as well as a classroom visit from Dora the Explorer.
Nick Jr., with its sister channel Nick Jr. 2, it is the most popular commercial pre-school entertainment brand in cable and satellite homes. Launched in 1999 as the world's first channel dedicated to pre- school children, Nick Jr. broadcasts hit shows including Dora the Explorer, Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, Bubble Guppies and Olive the Ostrich. In 2009 Nick Jr. won BAFTA Children’s Channel of the Year. More information on programming as well as clips, games and exclusive downloadable content is available at nickjr.co.uk. Nick Jr. is available on Sky 615, Virgin 715, through BT Vision and TalkTalk channel 318.
Launched in 1993, Nickelodeon UK comprises seven dedicated award-winning entertainment channels for kids aged 2-12 and is a joint venture between MTV and BSkyB Networks. The Nickelodeon Network is a top performing commercial kids TV network in the UK and the Nickelodeon channels are available in over 14 million cable and satellite homes.
About The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts:
The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts is an educational charity which champions the power of the arts to transform and enrich the lives of disadvantaged children across the UK. The charity’s projects have helped to create long-term partnerships between arts organisations and their local schools. Two core programmes, Start and Quests both highlight the potential of learning outside the classroom, enabling children to visit their local cultural venue to work with professional artists, and then developing this experience through class-based projects and activities. Since 2006 the charity has worked with over 100,000 children and hopes to substantially increase this figure in the next few years. For more info please visit www.childrenandarts.org.

Emma in Bromley x