Heated Poo] For Crippled Children

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31921, 24 February 1969, Page 12

Heated Poo] For Crippled Children

An appeal will begin on Wednesday for a new §60,000 heated swimming pool to be built for the Canterbury and Westland branch of the Crippled Children Society.

To be built as a project by the Christchurch Junior Chamber, the pool will be on the society’s present site in Antigua Street and will be adjacent to a new building being planned by the society to house its present facilities. A “dial-a-dollar" radio appeal to raise money for the pool will be held on March 6 and 7.

The 50ft by 18ft pool will be housed in a single-storey building, including special facilities and public viewing areas. Provision will be made for wheelchairs and persons entering the pool by means of a ramp, and a tuition pit will run along one edge of the pool. The pool will be heated to about 80 degrees and air conditioning facilities will be installed to prevent' condensation. The pool and surroundings will be finished with a mosaic tiled floor and glazed tile walls.

The convener of the project (Mr N. W. Hosking) said I that 1969 was the twenty-fifth anniversary year of the Christchurch Junior Chamber. To mark the years of progress and growth it was decided to promote a project which would be an asset to the public of Christchurch. The pool would not be restricted to the use of the Crippled Children Society but would be for the use of all disabled persons, he said. The Canterbury and West Coast branch of the society was founded in July, 1935, and within a few years four subbranches were set up on the West Coast. The helpers at first were part-time and mainly voluntary. At present there are more than 800 children and young persons, mostly under 21, on the register of the branch. There is a staff of five, as well as part-time workers, a considerable number of voluntary helpers and drivers. Next to the society’s headquarters in Antigua Street is the Canterbury Sheltered Workshop Association, which provides assessment, work learning and employment under sheltered conditions. There is close co-operation

between these organisations and the organisation founded a few years ago for the welfare of the intellectually handicapped. In the new buildings planned by the Crippled Children Society, at least two other welfare organisations may occupy some of the space.