Women's walk aims to boost Hop Skip and Jump Centre (From Swindon Advertiser)

Women's walk aims to boost Hop Skip and Jump Centre

3:00pm Monday 29th November 2010 in Local

SIX women stepped out in the snow to raise money for a new centre for disabled children in Swindon.

The woman walked around Lydiard Park on Saturday to help Hop Skip And Jump raise the £985,000 needed to build the centre, which will take about six months to complete.

The charity, whose president is Elizabeth Hurley, has raised £147,000 so far. The Hop Skip And Jump development will include treatment rooms, sensory rooms, large play areas, and support facilities for families Charon Dhaliwal, 47, from West Swindon, organised the event because she has a son, Jeevan, who suffers from autism.

She said: “It would be excellent to have somewhere in Swindon where my son will be able to play and be happy.

“We’ve been going to centres further afield and it’s so hard to get a disabled child to travel so it would be great to have a centre which we can walk to.

“I will be able to drop him off and leave him where I know he will be happy, unlike other centres where you have to stay and wait.”

The women have raised £473 and they are aiming to hold more events, with every penny being raised matched by Barclays bank, Charon’s employer. To donate visit www.hopskipandjumpswindon.org.