CHARITY
A Beacon of Light in the Darkness The Leicestershire and Rutland Masonic Charity Association has donated £1,000 to the local charity, The Bridge, offering light for all those who live in the shadows of homelessness. The Bridge’s main vision is that everyone in Leicester has a place to call home and has hope for the future, by providing support and opportunities to those trapped in poverty and homelessness. They do this through the core guiding principles of compassion, respect, hope and ensuring that every individual matters. One of their projects, The Lighthouse Project, helps strive for every individual who needs it, to have a
beacon of hope to grasp on to when they feel alone and surrounded by waves of change. With the help of mentors, who metaphorically light the way, individuals are provided with direction through a non-judgemental and professional relationship with the mentee. The mentor ensures the mental health of the mentee, as well as their physical health needs, are met through providing access to practical help and providing reassurance through regular phone or face-to-face
meetings for up to six months. This listening ear helps reduce loneliness and improves the wellbeing of the mentee. The donation from the LRMCA will go towards training, as wells as support, for volunteers who are suitable for the role of being a mentor, ensuring they have the right qualities, skills and attributes to take on the challenging role of helping to change a life.
A Soft Touch Soft Touch Arts is an award-winning charity using arts, media and musical activities as tools to engage with and change the lives of disadvantaged young people. They were recently awarded £1,000 by the Leicestershire and Rutland Masonic Charity Association to help continue the impact they have on the lives of young people in Leicester and Leicestershire. Soft Touch has been using creative projects to engage with and transform the lives of young people in challenging life situations since 1986. Leicester has over 30,000 children who live in poverty, one of the highest areas of deprivation in England, and its children are more likely to not achieve 5 good GCSEs by the time they leave school. As a result, these young people have low aspirations and a future with little hope of rising out of the deprivation they came from. Soft Touch provides the opportunity for young people to engage with them and help transform their lives, recognising potential that conventional education may not have tapped into, and supporting the development of life skills that will give them equal opportunity in comparison with their more privileged peers allowing them a sense of purpose and aspiration to achieve. Helen Abeles, Director of Soft Touch Arts, sincerely thanked the masonic community for the generous donation and the opportunities that it will be able to offer the young people.
Jason Clothier 18
Leicester Square SPRING 2022
Helen Abeles, Director of Soft Touch Arts, said,
Soft Touch Arts works with young people who need that extra bit of support to help them reach their potential. This generous donation from LRMCA will help us to offer more opportunities for young people to feel a sense of achievement through getting creative.
