At the start of 2022 the Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund donated over £12,500 to local organisations and individuals.
The Buckinghamshire Masonic Centenary Fund was established in 1991 to aid non-Masonic charitable causes with strong Buckinghamshire connections. The Fund makes donations to these causes on behalf of the 3000 Buckinghamshire Freemasons, who are the sole source of its financial support.
The Green Ridge Primary Academy was one organisation that benefited from the grant. The donation enabled them to provide free instruments and sheet music for pupils to use in class and at home.
Vice Chair of the Board of Governors, Laura Nunn, explained how important music is to young people “The participation in music lessons, is essential for young people. Using guitars and other large instruments improves their motor skills, the playing of recorders and strings on guitars improves their fine motor skills, and the reading of music improves the student’s memory and retention as well as maximising learning capabilities.”
Like many schools and academies in the UK, budgets are tight, and this donation allowed the school to invest in enough recorders, and other wind instruments for every pupil in year seven to have their own instrument, along with sheet music and a year of teaching by a qualified music teacher.
The donation also provided a lending bank of guitars and cases for pupils to take home. Laura Nunn explained that not all students can buy their own instruments; “Families are affected by the cost of living in many ways, often music lessons and instruments is seen as a luxury. With the amazing help from Buckinghamshire Freemasons, they now have another option to explore the world of music.”
Buckinghamshire Freemasons wish the students well in their learning journey, and hope that their appreciation of music in class and at home, will linger longer after the last note has been played in their early educational years.
