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Friends and relatives of Ascot youngster Sebastian Gates, and supporters of the charity set up in his memory, will celebrate what would have been his 16^th birthday this week by breaking ground at the site of the holiday home he dreamt of creating for sick children and their families.

Sebastian’s Action Trust has been working hard for the past six years to raise the funds needed to build the holiday house for which nine-year-old Sebastian Gates launched a fundraising campaign, shortly before he died in December 2003.  The Trust also worked with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council over a period of four years to achieve planning permission.

And this Thursday (18^th February) a celebratory ceremony will be held at the site in North Waltham, Hampshire, where Sebastian’s holiday respite house will be built.  The ceremony will start with Sebastian’s parents, sister Rebecca and close family putting the first spades in the earth at the site to “breakground” and then around 180 guests, all of whom have helped the Trust in some way towards achieving Sebastian’s dream, will be invited to dig a square of the turf.  The groundbreaking will be followed by a balloon release and lunch.

Jane Gates, Sebastian’s mother and Director of the Trust, said: “We are delighted to have reached the groundbreaking stage and felt that it was fitting to hold the groundbreaking event on what is a special day for us as a family, as it would have been Sebastian’s 16^th birthday.  The event is also a way of saying thank you to many of the people who have offered their support or helped us to raise money over the years.  As a family and as a charity we are extremely grateful to all who have supported Sebastian’s vision and I know our son would have been both thrilled and humbled by the sheer number of people who have given so much to help us achieve his last wish.”

Sebastian’s Grandfather and Trustee of Sebastian’s Action Trust, Vic Walters, said: “I feel that this is a challenge that was left to us by Sebastian and this is a major milestone towards meeting his request.  We are over the moon.  As a family we will continue to support the Trust in every way possible.”

He added: “We’ve got so many people we could thank for their help and support, the list is endless and with so many small charities struggling it’s lovely that they should choose to help us.”

Malcolm Dixon, Chairman of North Waltham Parish Council said: “North Waltham is proud to be associated with Sebastian's Action Trust and looks forward to the time when the Holiday Home will be built and become an integral part of the village. Jane and her team have shown tremendous commitment and determination to raise the necessary funds and overcome all the hurdles associated with such a major project.  The ground-breaking ceremony is a very happy as well as significant occasion and I'm only sorry I cannot be there in person.”

The holiday house will include two-four bedroom apartments, allowing two families to stay at any one time.  It will have shared leisure facilities featuring a swimming pool, games room, library, sensory room, and a caretaker’s flat.  It will be built in the picturesque Hampshire village of North Waltham, on a site gifted to the Trust by local landowner Pat Sweeney.

Article date: 16th February 2010