Date - Tuesday 1 June 2010

Work on the new Sparkle Appeal Centre has started again with contractors going on-site to complete the fit-out of the centre.

The new sparkle centre
moves one step closer!

The APPEAL to build a new centre for disabled children in Gwent has moved a step closer as work started inside the building this week.

But the project still has a long way to go with the final £750,000 yet to be found.

With the centre starting to take shape, it is now more important than ever to raise the final amount of money.

Appeal director Jon Trigwell said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve got to this point but we can’t rest on our laurels.

“We’ve got to get it finished so our fundraising is even more intense now. We’ve now got to accelerate very quickly to get it finished by the end of September.”

The £10 million project needed £1.5 million to kit out the centre with the specialist equipment.

Mr Trigwell said fundraising for this is on target but that a final push is needed to raise the £750,000.

He thanked donators and supporters for their efforts in getting to the point but said this is where the hard work really starts.

“It’s half time in a football match. If we don’t make it through the second half it won’t matter what we’ve done so far."

The appeal is also in the process of setting up a business board to benefit from the skills, time and money of local businesses.

The four-floor centre, which will be equipped with a hydrotherapy pool, gymnasium, medicinema and therapy rooms, should be open by January.

The building even has a new name and will be called The Serennu Centre, meaning 'to sparkle' in Welsh.

Contractors have moved on to the site to start the first stage of internal work.  This 20-week phase will see the electrics and cabling fitted inside the building.