Grand Union Lodge No. 9641 in Buckinghamshire has presented a cheque for £1,500 to Scotty’s Little Soldiers

Scotty’s Little Soldiers is dedicated to supporting children and young people who have lost a parent whilst serving in the British Armed Forces. Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, following the death of her husband Cpl Lee Scott in Afghanistan in 2009, the charity is currently providing assistance to hundreds of bereaved Forces children around the UK.

Nikki and Lee have two children, Kai and Brooke, so Nikki saw first-hand the effect the loss of a loved one in these circumstances can have on a child. It was on a family holiday some nine months after Lee was killed that Nikki saw her son Kai, five at the time, laugh and smile for the first time since his dad’s death.

She realised that there must be so many more children who had also lost a parent serving in the British Armed Forces, but hadn’t had that opportunity to smile again. As a result, Nikki decided to set up the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers to do just that – to help children smile.

Support offered to the children includes fun activities such as holiday breaks and group events, personal development assistance through educational grants and access to professional bereavement counselling.

The Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund (BMCF) awarded £3,200 for the purchase of a trailer for Alfriston School's minibus to enable them to provide invaluable experiences for their girls to learn to face personal challenges in unfamiliar and testing environments

Mike Clanfield, Buckinghamshire's Provincial Charity Steward, went to the school in Beaconsfield to meet the teachers and girls that will be using it.

Alfriston School is a special school for girls with learning difficulties and their main aim is to help their girls to gain the confidence and skills needed to be able to enjoy and participate in life as contributing adults. 

Alfriston School's Headteacher Jinna Male commented: 'This trailer is being used to take our girls out of their home environments on expeditions and trips.

'Some of our girls are learning to ride a bike, and we have taken the mountain bikes out to the woods to give them an exciting and inspiring setting in which to learn. Others have been on residential adventurous trips such as the New Forest, where the trailer has been used to take the large and expansive equipment needed. 

'Our older girls are practicing for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and the trailer is much needed in taking their camping and other kit needed to support this. Our curriculum can now include a wider and more varied programme of adventurous and outdoor activities that will develop their personal attributes such as resilience, perseverance and co-operation to equip them for life beyond Alfriston.'

Buckinghamshire Freemasons have donated £1,535 to Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes, which comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, and is part of a £600,000 grant made to 237 Hospices across England and Wales

The donation was made during Christmas last year, with Mike Clanfield, Buckinghamshire’s Provincial Charity Steward, dressed in a festive elf hat to mark the occasion. He said: ‘I’m very pleased we’ve been able to assist donating to Willen Hospice.

‘They do an outstanding job of helping people with life-limiting conditions, as well as supporting their families through very difficult times.’

Willen Hospice needs to raise £4.7 million a year to provide specialist end-of-life care and this donation will help the hospice to continue caring for patients, provides therapy sessions and support for friends and family.

Young people leaving the care system in Milton Keynes will be given the support they need, thanks to a £45,000 grant from Buckinghamshire Freemasons to the charity Volunteering Matters

The grant, which comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), will fund the award-winning Grandmentors programme, which will see volunteers aged 50 and over trained to provide mentoring for young people leaving care during their transition into adulthood and independence.

Every year 10,000 young people over the age of 16 leave care in the UK. More than 60 per cent were taken into care due to abuse or neglect, and many have grown up without the significant personal and developmental benefits of a grandparent figure in their lives. The Grandmentors project is inspired by the accepting and nurturing relationship between a young person and a grandparent. This life changing volunteer programme is already running in six areas across the UK, and has now come to Milton Keynes. 

The launch event for the project, held at Milton Keynes Civic Chambers, was in partnership with Computer Xplorers Bucks. Attendees got involved in Lego robotics and coding, which helped potential mentors and mentees to meet each other in a relaxed, fun and innovative way.

Oonagh Aitken, Chief Executive of Volunteering Matters, said: ‘We’re very grateful to Buckinghamshire Freemasons for their generous grant, which will help young people leaving the care system. Our vision is that every care leaver in the country has access to a Grandmentor, should they choose, and we’re deeply thankful to the Freemasons for helping us to work towards that vision.’

Phil Blacklaw, from Buckinghamshire Freemasons, said: ‘I’m very pleased we’re able to help fund the Grandmentors programme. Young people leaving care are already most likely to have been victims of neglect and abuse in childhood and they then find themselves on their own at 18 years of age with little or no help from anyone. Giving them someone to rely on at that crucial stage can be life-changing.’

Buckinghamshire Freemasons have presented Thames Valley Air Ambulance with a grant of £4,000

Thames Valley Air Ambulance provides emergency medical care 365 days a year, up to 19 hours per day, for around two million people who live, work and travel in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Their paramedics, doctors and pilots are highly trained and ready for any eventuality, delivering advanced care by road as well as by air, night and day, all year round.

Since opening in 1999, Thames Valley Air Ambulance has evolved from being a fast method of transporting patients to hospitals, to the current model of care which brings hospital level treatment to the scene of an incident. Equipped with the iconic red helicopter, four critical care response vehicles, specialist doctors, paramedics and pilots, cutting-edge technology and advanced medication, they are at the frontline of saving lives.

The grant, which was donated by the Masonic Charitable Foundation, will go towards funding the service, enabling their helicopter and critical care response vehicles to reach more people across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They provide advanced training for their paramedics and doctors, using specialist equipment such as a state-of-the-art simulation suite and real-life manikins.

The simulation suite enables the crews to practice treating patients in a variety of different emergency scenarios, replicating the conditions they would find in real life including noise, weather and smells.

Hugh Douglas-Smith, Buckinghamshire’s Deputy Provincial Deputy Grand Master, Phil Blacklaw, Assistant Grand Master, Andrew Hough, MCF Representative, and Mike Clanfield, Provincial Charity Steward, attended the Air Ambulance office based in Stokenchurch. Adam Panter, Director of Operations, then gave them an insightful demonstration of the simulation suite, explaining how the service works and who they help.

Buckinghamshire Freemasons have donated £1,300 to the Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust, which will be used to purchase a fully computerised ‘Modes’ system to enable them to document and record exhibits preserved in Buckingham Old Gaol Museum

Andrew Hough, Buckinghamshire’s Masonic Charitable Foundation representative, presented the donation from the Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund to Lt Col Simon Wilkinson, Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust, who also received a further donation from Mark Buckland of Grenville Lodge No. 1787.

The grant will allow the trust to meet Arts Council Accreditation requirements and enable those interested in stored items to access them and increase knowledge and accessibility for the public.

The Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust exists to preserve and perpetuate the traditions of the former County Regiments raised in Buckinghamshire, including the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry/ Hussars, The Royal Bucks (King’s Own) Militia, The Buckinghamshire Battalions and other auxiliary military forces. It does this to contribute to the understanding and appreciation of their role in the cultural heritage of the county.

It is interesting to note that Buckinghamshire’s first Provincial Grand Master, the 3rd Lord Carrington, was Colonel of The Royal Bucks Kings Own Militia from 1881 to 1886. In fact, Carrington Lodge No. 2421 is named after him.

The Masonic Centre in Buckingham was part of the Royal Bucks Hussars headquarters and is still decorated with 19th century Royal Bucks Hussars musicians’ swords.

Buckinghamshire Freemasons Eddie Irwin and Tom Davis have presented a cheque for £1,000 to Spread a Smile, to help with the fantastic work the charity does entertaining seriously ill children and teenagers in hospital

They visit some of London’s biggest hospitals, organising 21 hospital visits a month, with magicians, artists, singers, poets, face-painters, fairies and therapy dogs. This enables them to see over 500 patients per month – reaching over 6,000 young people every year.

Josephine Segal, Spread a Smile Co-Founder, said: ‘We are very grateful to Eddie and Tom on behalf of the Freemasons of Buckinghamshire for making this generous donation.

'This money will allow us to send entertainers into hospital to see children who are seriously and terminally ill and to bring a smile to their face when they really need it.’

Buckinghamshire Freemasons have donated £2,000 to buy a number of picnic benches in the Millennium Wood, which is located in Swanbourne Park

The money has come from the Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund (BMCF) and means that the area has now been transformed, having being previously overgrown, into an attractive spot for all to enjoy.

During the summer, a picnic and music event was held in the Millennium Wood, which was opened by The Hon Mrs Betsy Duncan Smith who thanked Buckinghamshire Freemasons for their donation.

Around 50 Buckinghamshire Freemasons attended the first Memorial Day march to be held by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town council on 11th November 2018

Local Freemasons from Bletchley look after the Memorial Gardens so we were pleased to accept the invite. Buckinghamshire’s Assistant Provincial Grand Master Phil Blacklaw lead the silent march, with over 100 people joining, which included the local community and friends and family of local masons.

Amongst the wreath layers were Freemason Javaid Iqbal, who is a retired Lt. Col from the Pakistan army, and new Entered Apprentice Muhindo Mowavingi.

After the ceremony a bugler played The Last Post which added to the atmosphere. The local community were then invited to the Bletchley Masonic Centre where food and drink was provided.

The Memorial service was watched live from the cenotaph and the room joined in with the two minutes silence.

Bletchley Park Lodge No. 9518 in Buckinghamshire has presented Willen Hospice with a cheque for £1,500, which has been raised over the past year by a number of raffles and events held at the lodge

Carolyn Green, the Community Fundraiser for Willen Hospice, received the donation from the Master of the lodge Rob Marston in front of a new addition to the grounds of Willen Hospice, The Tree of Life. Designed and conceptualised by local artist and blacksmith Will Jones, the installation will allow family members to dedicate a leaf on the tree to a loved one and provide a place of quiet contemplation within the grounds.

The leaves, which are made of stainless steel, are individually engraved and remain on the tree for a year and can then either remain on the tree or be returned to the family as a keepsake. Carolyn commented that the tree was one of many ways of supporting the work of the hospice and asked Rob to extend her thanks to the members of Bletchley Park Lodge.

Rob chose Willen Hospice as his charity for the year following their exceptional support and treatment of his late wife in the final stages of her struggle with cancer.