PEOPLE of all ages have honed their fundraising skills for our Sparkle Appeal over the past two months.

And now even more events and activities are planned to ensure everyone keeps shining through.

Last December we launched the Sparkle Appeal to raise £250,000 towards a £6 million centre for disabled children at High Cross, Newport. The centre will help special children like Rebecca Maggs and James Allen who we have featured in the Argus - and support for their cause has flooded in.

Last year's Sparkle Day raised £1,900 as children from Eveswell Primary School and Crindau Primary School got sparkly, while staff at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Gwent branches of Barclays Bank and Marks and Spencer made sure the day was a success.

This year's events promise to be better than ever with a Sparkle Day planned for Thursday, December 16, with organised events and ideas on how to mark the day.

This year some of the many planned events to support and raise funds for Sparkle include the launch of Sparkle badges, Mother's Day cards and teddy bears especially for special mums.

A sponsored walk for children and adults is planned on July 16, starting from Fourteen Locks and finishing in Cwmbran Stadium. Also planned are an abseil in May or June, a teddy bears picnic in the summer and an Easter Egg hunt for children.

These are just a few of the events planned to help the 1,200 disabled children across Newport, Torfaen and south Monmouthshire.