Stourbridge News
Clent school launches new appeal
11:30am Wednesday 22nd February 2012
SUNFIELD School in Clent has launched an appeal to raise £30,000 to equip a revamped house for its profoundly autistic children.
The school which provides residential care and education for six to 19-year-olds with complex learning disabilities is currenlty undertaking a programme of refurbishing its accommodation.
As part of the ongoing project - work is being carried out to remodel Birch House, which was built in the 1980s, and divide it into two separate living quarters.
The £300,000 revamp which got underway last month is already gathering pace and the majority of the costs have already been met.
A further £30,000, however, still needs to be raised to equip the refashioned building which is due for completion in April and likely to be up and running soon afterwards.
Sunfield appeals officer Ian Jones said: “We’re still fundraising for the equipment. We need new specialist furniture including beds, TVs, cabinets, chairs, desks and wardrobes.
“A lot of the children are quite challenging and the furniture can get damaged, so it takes lot of upkeep.
“The bedrooms and corridors are also quite small for the types of children we have referred to us so we’re working to make them bigger. We have really got to upgrade everything, so it will just have a much nicer feel to it.”
He said once Birch House is fully refurbished, the school aims to revamp a further three buildings at a cost of £145-150,000 each over the next few years.
He added: “We hope to do one a year.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to help kit out the revamped Birch House can do so online via JustGiving website www.justgiving.com/sunfieldhouseappeal - or anyone wishing to hold a fundraiser in aid of Sunfield can call community links manager Kate Worton on 01562 882253.