SANDALS Foundation has contributed $1 million towards construction work to facilitate the expansion of the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre in St James, scheduled to get underway early next year.

Friday’s handing over of a symbolic cheque to Marilyn McIntosh Nash, director of the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre, was the highlight of a treat for over 200 children from that tough inner-city community, staged at the grounds of the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre by the Sandals Foundation.

Last year, the Sandals Foundation, which has over the years enjoyed a good relationship with the community, also donated $1 million towards the operation of the community development centre.

Nash expressed profound gratitude to the Sandals Foundation for the “timely” suppost.

“We are extremely grateful for this gift! It is very timely and I don’t think we could have a better Christmas gift than this,” said a gleeful Nash.

“This gift is certainly going to be very helpful to the Peace and Justice Centre. For one thing, it will assist with our expansion and it will help with our daily operational activities,” she added.

Cheryl McGaw Douse, projects co-ordinator with Sandals Foundation pledged the foundation’s continued support for the St James inner-city community of about 10,000.

“This has been something that we have been working on for a number of years, and we are very pleased to continue doing that. We are very pleased that our relationship with the community continues to grow,” she said.

On a daily basis, over 100 residents pass through the doors of the more than nine-year-old Flanker Peace and Justice Centre. It offers among other services, a senior citizen’s programme and an educational youth programme.

“These (programmes) are extremely costly so we appreciate it when other persons see the work that we are doing and are able to assist us financially, because as a NGO it is not an easy thing to raise funds in times like these,” Nash explained.