The Flackwell Heath and Loudwater Age UK Day Centre is located in the heart of Flackwell Heath and adjoins the Community Centre.
The centre is open to the over 60’s from 09.30 to 15.00 on Monday to Thursday and each day provides lunch, as well as many fun and interesting activities for its 12-14 visitors from the local community.
Due to new regulatory requirements the centre’s kitchen needed updating and upgrading so that they could continue to provide their visitors with a meal and snacks as they always have done.
The centre’s committee work to a very tight budget and so they embarked on a fund raising drive which included quizzes open days and coffee mornings. This raised a considerable sum but were still short of their projected target, when one of the regular volunteer helpers and drivers at the centre, Ross Hailstone, suggested contacting the Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund (BMCF) to see if they would donate towards the cost.
As a member of St. Lawrence Lodge 8629, which meets at the Marlow Masonic Centre, Ross contacted the BMCF who were delighted to provide £1,000 to cover the cost of an industrial freezer suited to the space available and the requirements of the kitchen staff.
Jacky Retallack-Hall, the centre manager said: “We are absolutely delighted by this generous donation by Buckinghamshire Freemasons and, along with our new cooker, work surfaces and storage areas we now have a modern and efficient kitchen for our staff to prepare the meals for our visitors each day.”