The Worcestershire Masonic Orders meeting at Kidderminster collected £4,350 with the generous help of Red Cross of Constantine, Grand Sovereign’s Care for Children Fund.
W. Bro. Martin Lawrence, Chairman Kidderminster Masonic Temple Association, coordinated the Appeal to meet the cost of running a six week holiday camp for children from Birchen Coppice School.
Based on the Birchen Coppice Estate which is council home estate and has many problems. The estate has double the national average of poverty and deprivation, is ridden with anti-social behaviour, has alcohol and drug dependency problems. Many of the parents of the children who attend the school are illiterate. During school holidays many of the children are left to their own devices lose on the estate without food for the day.
Mrs Charlotte Jeynes, the School Events and Fund Raising Organiser is passionate about the welfare of these children and is to organise a summer school so they can have a place to attend.
The School motto is, “Reach for the Stars”and the Holiday Club is to be called “COSMOS”.
The purpose of this event and it is hoped to run such events for all school holidays is to maintain the social and emotional development of the children who are between 4 and 12 years of age, along with maintaining welfare for them and provide a cooked meal for up to 50 children per day.
Many of the children receive little or no education from their parents and after a six week period off school the continuity of education has been lost and the teaching staff have to start back from step one to get the child on the path of further education, this Holiday Camp will give the child access to continued education.
Parents will also be able to attend to receive basic reading and writing skills and introduction to computer skills; so they can have an understanding of what their children are aiming to achieve.
‘The Rising Stars Holiday Club’, will be open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm; and, in addition to maintaining their education, they will also be involved in activities to help build their esteem. They will maintain their own allotment and then sell the produce teaching them planning and business skills and be taken away from the estate on a trip to the seaside, as many of the children have never left the Estate not even into Kidderminster town centre.
Pictured left to right:
R. W. Bro. Robert Vaughan, Prov. Grand Master; Mrs. Kay Butler, Headmistress; W. Bro. Martin Lawrence, Chairman KMTA,; Mrs. Charlotte Jeynes School Events and Fund Organiser; W. Bro. Colin Young, PAsstPGM and Intendent General of the Red Cross of Constantine.
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