On Monday 25th June, Minster Lodge No. 4663’s charity steward, Terry Ratcliffe visited Musical Connections where he was invited to take part in one of the charities weekly music sessions, following a recent donation of £1,560 made by Minster Lodge and The Freemasons charity Yorkshire North and East Riding.
This particular session was a collaboration with Accessible Arts and Media, a local charity that Minster Lodge and The Freemasons Charity supported with a donation in 2017. The two charities came together to create a singing and signing group that is comprised largely of elderly tenants from the housing scheme along with adults who have learning disabilities and a class of Year one children from St Aelred’s primary school.
The session was extremely inclusive with everyone in attendance taking part to learn sign language through an enjoyable session of singing and signing. After seeing the big smiles around the room and speaking with various elderly residents, it was clear to see the difference these sessions make to people’s lives is truly priceless, with one elderly resident explaining that the session’s give them something to look forward to, with the youngsters bringing a happy, youthful atmosphere to the building.
Musical connections are extremely grateful for the donation made by the freemasons that will allow the charity to purchase new musical equipment that will be used to further enhance the various music sessions and groups that the charity runs within the local community.