By Victoria Brenan

Last updated at 11:57, Thursday, 04 October 2012

It has been two years in the making but a respite centre opens its doors next week after volunteers raised £750,000 to build it.

Support worker Kate Robinson in the new ball pool and soft play area

The Grace Little Centre, at Kingmoor Park in north Carlisle, will provide short breaks for children and young people with disabilities across north Cumbria.

An initial £190,000 donation came from the legacy of its namesake – 94-year-old Carlisle woman Grace Little, whose disabled son Frank was supported by the charity running the new centre – Carlisle Mencap.

After being named as a beneficiary of her will in 2010, Carlisle Mencap has been raising the rest of the £550,000 needed to build it.

Chief executive Sheila Gregory said they had been “astounded” at how quickly they had been able to raise the money for the centre.

“We have to thank all the fundraisers for their hard work,” she said.

“We are still raising funds for toys and some items – the next major item will be raising funds for a minibus to take the young people staying at the centre out and about.”

Facilities at the centre include a swing, roundabout and slide, four en suite bedrooms, an activity wing with a sensory room, soft play, IT and arts and crafts. It is for young people with learning or physical disabilities, aged up to 18.

Mencap will officially open the centre on Monday, bringing facilities back to the city which have been lacking since the closure of Orton Lea in 2007.

A widow, Mrs Little was registered blind, living with severely disabled son Frank, who had Down’s syndrome. The pair relied on the help of Carlisle Mencap, Carlisle Society for the Blind (CSB), the RNIB and Age Concern.

Although they lived a modest life, Mrs Little had secretly invested money so that her son could be cared for after her death. She outlived her son, however, who died in January 2008 in his late sixties.

She then changed her will to divide the cash – almost £1m in total – between the charities that helped her.

First published at 11:26, Thursday, 04 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk