Millstead Primary School has been announced as the benefactor of the Sunshine Coach provided by Mayor Anderson’s charity fund and Variety, the Children’s Charity in honour of the Hillsborough 96.
In July 2013, Mayor Anderson announced that the money had been ring-fenced for one of the special Hillsborough Sunshine Coaches from his Mayoral charity fund.
In November, Variety, the Children’s Charity hosted a special fundraiser at the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool to raise the funds for a second Sunshine Coach to pay tribute to the Hillsborough victims. The original target was exceeded with the event raising over £100,000 for Variety, the Children’s Charity.
This has allowed the purchase of a further three Sunshine Coaches for sick, disabled and disadvantaged children across Merseyside.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson said;’I am delighted to be presenting a Sunshine Coach to Millstead School alongside Variety, The Children’s Charity and the Hillsborough Family Support Group. This special coach in memory of the Hillsborough 96 is so gratefully received at Millstead who are due to expand with the reopening of the new and improved school later this year.
The Sunshine Coach will transport over 100 pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, whilst acting as a working memorial to those who tragically lost their lives at Hillsborough.”
Millstead School is part of the Liverpool School Investment Programme in which Mayor Joe Anderson has pledged to deliver 12 new schools to the City.
Millstead Primary School will be relocated from its current location on Old Mill Lane, Wavertree to a new state of the art £6m school building on Prince Edwin Street in Everton.
The school currently caters for 73 pupils aged between two years old and 11 years with the new school equipped to take a total of 105 pupils. The Sunshine Coach will aid in the transition period and help transport the students, old and new, to and from school and to beneficial extra curricular and medical activities.
Margaret Aspinall, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group added; “The HFSG are delighted that Variety chose to honour the Hillsborough 96 with this wonderful gesture which will benefit disabled and disadvantaged children in Liverpool. Seeing the childrens’ reaction to the coaches is a real privilege and we are proud to offer our full support.”
