12.07.2007 – masoniCare, the philanthropic arm of NSW and ACT Freemasons, has donated $10,000 to community initiatives on the South Coast. 

The contributions are part of masoniCare’s Regional Grants program which provides $130,000 in funding to local community programs across NSW and ACT each year. Recipients are selected through nominations made by the local Masonic community.

John Thomson, regional manager for the Freemasons of the South Coast, said, “It’s all about charity at a grass roots level, we want to make a difference locally and we give our members a chance to choose where the money goes”.

The first donation of $5,000 was made to the ‘Aspect - South Coast School for Children with Autism’ which provides a range of services to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as well as their families and carers. It is estimated that 1 in 160 (approximately 125,000) Australians have ASD.  The services provided by the School include education from Kindergarten to Year 10, early intervention programs, playgroups, Parent Support Networks, information and training workshops and outreach programs.

The grant of $5,000 will go towards expanding the resources available at the School’s library, which is used to support parents and professionals in their understanding when working and interacting with children with ASD.

John Thomson commended the work performed by the School, saying, “Children with Autism as well as their parents and carers need specialised support and the necessary resources can sometimes come at a high cost”.

“Freemasonry is delighted to be able to support the local Aspect school  so that its library can be expanded in order to help people better understand the condition,” He added.

Debra O’Brien, acting principal of the School, welcomed the grant, saying, “I am so pleased that the Freemasons have chosen to support the work of Aspect. This grant will help to improve the School’s services to children with ASD and their families”.

The second grant of $5,000 was made to Greenacres Disability Services, an organisation that offers day services as well as supported and open employment programs to over 500 people with life long intellectual disabilities. The organisation operates predominantly in the Illawarra region from 13 different locations.
 
masoniCare’s grant will provide part of the funding needed to purchase a new wheel chair bus which will be used to transport wheel chair bound clients.

Neil Preston, Chief Executive Officer of Greenacres Disability Services, thanked masoniCare, saying, “Greenacres really appreciates the support from the Freemasons in helping to purchase the wheel chair bus. The purchase of such equipment is not always covered by our Government funding but makes a large difference in the quality of our services”.

He went on to say, “People with developmental and intellectual disabilities need to be given opportunities for social normalisation, which adds value to their lives as well as the community as a whole”.

John Thomson said, “The team at Greenacres do a fantastic job and we are glad to be able to lend a hand”.