CHILDREN at Newport’s Serennu Centre are celebrating after the charity behind it won a near half million pound grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

The Argus-backed Sparkle Appeal, which was the driving force behind a seven-year campaign to fund the multi-million pound centre in Rogerstone, welcomed a £487,743 to fund new staff over the next three years.

T h e g r a n t , which is the largest the charity has received, will help pay for three new part-time posts, and fund the centre manager’s role for three days a week.

These will include a much-needed counsellor, who will help parents and siblings of children with complex needs and disabilities deal with their situation.

The unique role has long been top of the wishlist for many parents of the 1,200 young people who use the centre for everything from treatment to social and leisure activities since it opened last year.

A play therapist will be taken on to set up mother and toddler sessions, while a parent liaison officer will help parents navigate the care system.

Sparkle appeal chairwoman, Dr Sabine Maguire, said the grant was the most exciting news the charity could have had.

She said the play therapist would provide a welcome distraction for children when they are distressed and would create a much-needed support group for parents.

She added: “The new family liaison officer will be a very welcome resource, as frequently parents ‘get lost’ in the system and are unsure what is going on with their child, or who they should be seeing.

This person will be able to help them navigate the system, and direct them to the right professionals.”

Part of the money, £45,000, will be put towards a specialist playground, which will be the first of its kind in Gwent, and available to families seven days a week.

The charity still needs to raise more than £100,000 to purchase technical equipment, £15,000 a year for its youth club and £25,000 a year for an activities co-ordinator.

Waterway work wins £850,000 grant

A PROJECT to restore a derelict section of the historic Monmouthshire and Brecon canal in Cwmbran got under way today.

The canal is celebrating its 200th year and has been awarded a £854,500 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant for the restoration work.

The money was given to Torfaen County Borough Council and will be used to develop a comprehensive training programme to equip new and existing volunteers, including long-term unemployed with the heritage construction skills and canal management techniques needed to carry out the work.

Around 270 volunteers will take part in the project, clocking up 6,510 volunteer days, with 150 taking part in training and a further 50 receiving accredited training.

The project aims to see boating, fishing and canoeing taking place along this stretch of the waterway once again.

Dr Manon Williams, chair of HLF in Wales, said: “Wales’ canals are an important heritage asset for the country and a haven for wildlife. This is a fantastic project with local people at the heart of it.

By training volunteers in restoration and repair skills we can make sure the canal is maintained and valued well into the future.

“It’s great to see so many volunteers wanting to get involved.”

City’s vulnerable to get big boost

NEWPORT University has received almost £500,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to provide a free counselling service to the most vulnerable people in the city.

The £499,506 grant from the organisation’s People and Places programme will be used to provide therapy and counselling around Newport.

Counsellors, from Newport University’s community counselling service, will use different types of therapy as part of a three-year project.

The service will also be involved in research projects run by the university.

Deputy vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Hagen said: “The grant will provide the university with opportunities to learn from and engage more closely with communities in Newport and beyond.”

Nina Finnigan, chief executive of the Share Centre in Newport, added: “This is such a fantastic initiative which is so badly needed.

“The best thing about it is that it will help the most vulnerable and hard-toreach in the city.”