A LIFELINE centre for blind ex-servicemen across North Wales is one stop closer to completion following a £1 million donation.
St Dunstan’s, the national charity which provides lifelong support to blind serving and former military personnel, has been given the money by Help for Heroes in response to a capital appeal to raise £4 million for the construction of an extension at the new rehabilitation and training centre in Craig y Don.
The centre, which will open in the autumn of 2011, will enable St Dunstan’s to continue in its work to support ex-servicemen and women who have served in the Armed Forces and lost their sight due to war, age, accident or illness.
It will also be a centre of excellence providing world class rehabilitation and training to War Blind Service personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Robert Leader, Chief Executive of St Dunstan’s, said: “We are honoured to accept the £1 million donation from Help for Heroes. Thanks to their generosity and their supporters we are able to move forward with the construction of the extension. The addition of the high dependency nursing facilities is essential to ensure St Dunstan’s can support more service and ex-service people with damaged sight, regardless of their other injuries. This is especially important for those returning from today’s conflicts, given their extensive injuries associated with counter-insurgency operations. As with our older war blinded beneficiaries, the services we provide are for life.”
The extension will contain 10 high dependency nursing beds, along with a rehabilitation gym, sports room and training kitchens.
St Dunstan’s currently provides a service to almost 5,000 people and the new centre in Craig y Don is expected to be a vital source of support for people who live in Wales and the north west of England.
Bryn Parry, co-founder and chief executive of Help for Heroes said: “The work St Dunstan does is crucial and we at H4H are thrilled to be able to contribute to their appeal. While we accept that war is brutal and people get hurt, we can all work together to ensure that the wounded and their relatives get the speedy support and opportunities they so richly deserve.”