The refurbishing of a critical community facility at Pathways Health Centre for Children is expected to begin in December.
Executive Director Jenny Greensmith said work on the therapeutic pool's 30-year-old infrastructure will be done in stages so that programming can continue in 2020.
"That's so very important because this is a therapeutic pool, the people who use it and who need to use it, don't have a choice to go anywhere else other than completely out of our community," said Greensmith. "And they told us that we need to keep this open as much as we possibly can."
Pathways' Therapeutic Pool Campaign got a substantial boost in the form of a $200,000 donation from the Catherine Wilson Foundation Tuesday. Greensmith said the donation, one of the largest in the Murphy Road facility's campaign, pushes the fundraiser over the $1 million mark.
"We are just so very pleased, in fact we are now just about $500,000 in pledges away from our campaign goal of $1.6 million."
The campaign was launched in late November 2018.
Funds had been raised previously to reopen the pool in September 2018 following a leak, but the repairs at that time were only a short-term solution.
Pathways Pool courtesy of Jenny Greensmith Aug 30,2018
The pool is the only one of its kind in Sarnia and features specialized facilities such as accessible ramps, water wheel chairs, a ceiling lift transfer system, and accessible changerooms. Over 800 children and young adults with disabilities use the pool each year. Planned refurbishments include mechanical and electrical upgrades, removal and replacement of pool tiles and grout, replacement of the pool deck and dressing room flooring, and a pool repaint.
Catherine Wilson was a high school teacher for 35 years in the Sarnia community, mostly at SCITS. Her foundation's vision is to promote a sense of community by being a champion to both individuals and organizations as they strive to reach their full potential.