Supporting Home Start with £4,000

Message from our Provincial Grand Charity Steward

Brethren,

On Wednesday 31st July I paid a visit to Stockland Green Home Start, a project based at Six Ways Baptist Church, on the occasion of their 30th birthday. In celebration they were having a family fun day and this was attended by hundreds of kids having a great time with a bouncy castle, face painting and children's entertainers.

The project supports almost 200 hundred youngsters and their families who are experiencing the effects of deprivation, loneliness, isolation, homelessness and related mental health issues such as depression.

A number of the families who attended told me of the life line the project had given them, at a time when they were in despair and had no where else to turn. They told me that the mutual support they gained from each other, both children and parents, meant that Home Start was now their family.

The bonds between the people at the centre were plain to see and it was great to learn that long after families had ceased to require the service, they still visited to support other families in need. Many of the full time staff have used the service themselves and then became volunteers and then employees.

The current Chair of Trustees told me how she had been supported by the project when she and her three children had no one else. As a result of that timely support, not only was she able to turn her own life around but the outcomes for her children had been transformed. All her children were now settled at grammar schools and doing very well and that would just not have happened without the guidance and support of Home Start.

Earlier this year the project received a grant from the Masonic Charitable Foundation of £4,000. All the staff and families wanted me to pass on their thanks to the MCF and to you the brethren of Warwickshire. Let me assure you brethren that donation will be faithfully and diligently applied. The project provides support to family for as little as £20 per day, excellent value and use of donations.

On behalf of our Provincial Grand Master, RW Bro David F Macey and the brethren of Warwickshire I thank the MCF for their donation and Home Start for the excellent work they are doing in our local community. HERE’S TO THE NEXT 30 YEARS. Keep that family growing.

Yours Sincerely and Fraternally

Geoff Walker

Provincial Grand Charity Steward